A deal to return migrants who arrived in the UK illegally in small boats back across the Channel to France is coming into force today.
The ‘one in, one out’ agreement was announced during a state visit from French President Emmanuel Macron last month, as a new means of deterring people from taking the hazardous journey over the water.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said at the time it would begin ‘within weeks’ – and today is the first day it is fully in effect, after it gained the blessing of the European Commission and other EU countries.
However, no returns will be made straight away. Instead, detentions are expected the start within the next few days in preparation for the next step.
By the end of July, more than 25,000 people had made the crossing over the English Channel in flimsy small boats.
That’s almost 50% more than the number who had crossed by the same time last year.
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The government hopes the risk of being sent straight back across to continental Europe will put people off risking their lives to reach the UK.
What is the ‘one in, one out’ migrant deal?
The logic behind the deal is simple – adult migrants who arrive here illegally will be sent back across the Channel, and for every person returned, the UK will take in an asylum seeker from Europe.
Those asylum seekers must not have attempted to come over illegally, and will be subject to security and eligibility checks.
It doesn’t take a degree in maths to realise this would result in the same number of people coming over to the UK, on the face of it.
But the Home Office believes fewer people will make the journey if they think they might not end up being able to stay, and this will end up bringing down the numbers.
That could depend on how many people are impacted, though, as not every arrival will be sent back immediately.
Reports suggest the initial phase of the scheme could return 50 people each week – meaning just one in 17 would be affected, at the current rate of crossings.
The question of whether would-be migrants might think those figures are worth the gamble remains.
Reactions to the UK and France migrant deal
Government figures on both sides of the Channel are, unsurprisingly, keen to sing the praises of the new agreement.
Starmer said it was the ‘product of months of grown-up diplomacy’, and would ‘strike at the heart of these vile gangs’ business model’.
The PM added: ‘The days of gimmicks and broken promises are over – we will restore order to our borders with the seriousness and competence the British people deserve.’
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK would ‘always be ready to play its part alongside other countries in helping those fleeing persecution and conflict’, but it must be done ‘in a controlled and managed legal way’.
Her French counterpart Bruno Retailleau wrote in a post on X that the agreement is ‘a first step in addressing a challenge that calls for the mobilization of the entire European Union’.
Opposition politicians, on the other hand, have been scathing.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp argued: ‘Returning just 50 illegal immigrants a week, and probably less, will make no difference whatsoever. This amounts to just 6 per cent of illegal arrivals.
‘Allowing 94 per cent to stay in the UK will be no deterrent at all. This is a gimmick which won’t work.’
Charity Freedom from Torture has also raised reservations over the plan, which will result in the detention of arrivals.
Natasha Tsangarides, the group’s Associate Director of Advocacy, said: ‘We know from our therapy rooms how profoundly harmful any time in detention is for people who’ve been through the unimaginable horrors of torture.
‘Many survivors were tortured in detention, so locking them up again reopens deep psychological scars and can set them back significantly on their road to recovery.’
Channel crossing crackdown
The deal with France is a central pillar of a wider government effort to ‘smash the gangs’ who are behind the small boats.
In the past couple of days, the Home Office has also revealed a £100 million boost in funding for border security specifically to tackle small boats crossings.
At the weekend, the creation of a new offence was announced targeting people who promote the crossings on social media. They now face up to five years in prison.
When Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited the UK the week after Macron, he committed to a change in German law aiming to prevent people in the country facilitating illegal migration to the UK.
According to statistics from the Home Office, 898 migrants arrived on 13 boats on July 30, but none at all arrived in the four days afterwards.
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