There's no legal definition of a migrant. There's no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker. About 90% of UK immigrants are documented under various schemes, in supports of the concept that we have control of our borders. The remaining 10% or less of undocumented asylum seekers need to be processed quickly rather than stacked in hotels, when most of them will be accepted into the UK and a comparative few deported. The dangerous rubber boat crossings would stop immediately if a safe route were available, such as a fleet of buses, or rapid assessment on the French coast. It's depressing that the two main Parties continue to say they 'must reduce immigration' to satisfy what they see as the public's view, but this only serves to justify the extreme actions of recent right-wing rioters. Things might be different if the main Parties could bring themselves to say that properly managed immigration is a good thing, so 'what's your problem mate?'
Peter Evans ● 318d