Today, more than 100 migrants travelled across the English Channel in tiny boats after a man was saved by the French Navy while attempting the 21-mile voyage in a kayak.
Around 10:30 a.m., the Border Force vessel Ranger transported the first group of 30 to 40 migrants into Dover, Kent.
A senior woman was spotted being helped into a wheelchair by UK officials as they waited at the harbour to remove her off the boat.
A few women and children were among the most recent arrivals, who were apparently stopped from two dinghies.
A little girl in elementary school and a toddler were being led off the boat by a female Border Force member.
A slightly older boy followed them closely before handing them off to soldiers in high-visibility vests and camouflage fatigues.
The remaining males were led along the gangway for processing by UK officials after the women and children had been led off the ship.
Dozens more migrants entered the harbour at around 3 o’clock thanks to the Border Force cutter Hurricane.
UK officials wearing white biohazard suits and masks assisted the gathering, which was primarily made up of men, in getting off the boat.
Two little children were with one woman who was observed carrying her possessions in a small clutch bag as a Border Force employee walked with her toddler.
At least 100 people were detained in five small boats, according to the Ministry of Defense (MoD), while the exact number of migrants who crossed today is yet unconfirmed.
It occurs when Priti Patel’s promise to sentence people smugglers who are discovered driving a dinghy full of migrants across the English Channel to life in prison is struck down.
The maximum jail term for “assisting unlawful immigration” under new laws that went into effect last week climbed from 14 years to life. Tougher punishments under the Nationality and Borders Act.
The rule was changed as more than 3,000 migrants travelled across the English Channel to the UK in June, which was the highest monthly total this year. Today alone, 100 migrants crossed the Channel.
But after her Rwanda plan failed to take off last month, the Home Secretary’s pledge to end cross-Channel trafficking was dealt another blow when the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that sentences of two to three years in prison ‘will be appropriate for pilots of small boats with their “hand on the tiller”.’
If the sentence is two to three years, the dinghy pilots may be released in a year to 18 months if they act properly behind bars.
The conclusion, in a judgment from the Court of Appeal, led to one legal expert telling The Independent: ‘Nobody is going to be getting anywhere near life’, adding: ‘The maximum sentence of life has been briefed in press releases to look like the government is being tough, in the knowledge that once these cases go before the court no one will get life’.
The Home Office has insisted that the change in the law will land tougher sentences. MailOnline has asked the Government department to comment.
In a statement released when the laws came into effect on Tuesday, a spokesman said: ‘Anyone caught piloting a boat carrying migrants in the Channel could face life behind bars from today, as part of the biggest overhaul of the asylum system in decades.’
Priti Patel added: ‘These new measures will enable us to crack down on abuse of the system and the evil people smugglers, who will now be subject to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment as a result of this law coming into force.’
This comes after the French regional operational surveillance and rescue centre (CROSS) in Griz-Nez identified a boat in difficulty off the coast of Dunkirk on Friday.
The French Navy patrol boat Flamant rescued a stranded man in a kayak and dropped him off at the port of Dunkirk.
Once back at the quay, he was taken care of by the border police.
The policy will apply to migrants seen taking the tiller of dinghies and other small boats from northern France.
Military and civilian drones in use over the Channel already capture high-definition video images to use as evidence in court.
The Act, passed by Parliament in April, also introduces a new ‘twin-track’ asylum system which will grant fewer rights to those who arrive by illegal routes, even if they are eventually found to have a legitimate claim to refugee status.
Under other measures the Home Office will be able to impose visa penalties on citizens of countries which refuse to take back their own nationals.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: ‘This is one of the most crucial milestones in delivering on our promise to the British public to take back control of our borders.
‘While there is no single solution to the global migration crisis, these reforms which come into effect today play a vital role in overhauling the broken asylum system as we put our New Plan for Immigration into action.’
She added: ‘We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that we offer protection and sanctuary to those in genuine need, but these new measures will enable us to crack down on abuse of the system and the evil people-smugglers, who will now be subject to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment as a result of this law coming into force.’
The Act also raises the maximum sentence for breaking UK immigration laws or exceeding a visa’s validity from six months to four years in prison. Additionally, it permits incarcerated foreign national offenders to leave the UK up to 12 months before the conclusion of their sentence.
According to an analysis of government data by the PA news agency, 3,136 people made the voyage in June on 76 boats, travelling on 19 of those days.
It occurs after Home Secretary Priti Patel announced plans to transfer migrants to Rwanda in an effort to prevent people from making the journey two and a half months prior.
March saw 3,074 crossings, which was the second-highest number of crossings out of the 12,690 persons who completed the trip in the first half of this year.
According to Home Office data for the first quarter of the year and later data gathered by the Ministry of Defence, tiny boats like dinghies made the passage in May 2,871, 2,143 in April, 1,322 in January, and 144 in February after transiting congested maritime lanes from France (MoD).
Since 2018, November 2021 saw the most crossings ever with 6,971 total.
The amount thus far in 2022 is more than five times what was tallied between January and June of 2020 (2,493) and is more than twice what was tallied in the first six months of previous year (5,917).
On Thursday, there were still crossings, and 94 individuals arrived in two boats in Dover, Kent. On Friday, though, activity slowed due to a weather change.
Miss Patel signed a “world-first” agreement with Rwanda on April 14 that will allow the east African country to accept asylum seekers who the UK believes came “illegally” and are therefore inadmissible under new immigration laws.
However, the first deportation flight, which was scheduled to depart on June 14, was grounded owing to legal issues.
51,824 persons have reportedly crossed since 2018, according to the statistics.