English Channel Migrant Small Boat Crossings Reach 200,000 Since 2018
PA analysis says recent arrivals pushed the total above 200,000 as ministers expand patrols with France and seek tougher asylum rules.
- On Friday, arrivals in Dover, Kent, pushed the total number of migrants crossing the English Channel to 200,000 since records began in 2018, with Press Association analysis indicating 199,943 people had made the journey as of Thursday, May 7.
- Annual arrivals fluctuated significantly, rising from 29,437 in 2023 to 41,472 in 2025, while the average number of migrants per boat has steadily increased to 64 so far in 2026.
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a three-year deal with Paris last month to pay £662 million for enhanced beach patrols, aiming to curb crossings and target smugglers.
- Under the current Labour Government, ministers scrapped the Conservatives' multimillion-pound deal to send migrants to Rwanda, while Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called the immigration system "totally broken."
- Reflecting the dangers, 2024 emerged as the deadliest year to date with 50 deaths recorded by the French coastguard, following two women who died trying to cross the Channel last Sunday.
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Number of Illegals Reaching England by Boat Crosses 200,000.
The number of migrants crossing the English Channel on small boats since 2018 has crossed 200,000.PULSE POINTS WHAT HAPPENED: Over 200,000 boat migrants have crossed the English Channel to the United Kingdom since 2018, according to British government figures. DETAIL: In 2018, only 299 migrants traveled to the United Kingdom on small boats. In 2019, the number of illegal crossings rose to 1,843. The influx increased dramatically during the COVID…
English Channel Migrant Tally Hits 200,000 Milestone
The UK government’s efforts to stop the boats met with reality on May 8th, as the total number of small-boat arrivals since 2018 officially surpassed the 200,000 mark. A group of 70 migrants, intercepted by the Border Force vessel Ranger after launching from Dunkirk at dawn, brought the cumulative total to 200,013. The news serves as a secondary blow to the prime minister, who is already reeling from a disastrous set of local election results o…
Evening Standard
Number of people crossing Channel since 2018 believed to have hit 200,000
Dozens of migrants were seen arriving in Dover, Kent, on Friday morning.
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