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Illegal immigration / Berlin and London, war on smugglers

2024-12-12 15:45:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

More and more migrants are crossing the English Channel to the UK - often helped by smugglers. Germany and Great Britain will now jointly oppose these gangs.

A few days ago, the headlines announced a large-scale search operation and arrests in Germany: A Kurdish-Iraqi network has transported refugees "on unsafe boats through the English Channel to Great Britain". The boats, or rather their spare parts, were partially obtained in Germany illegally. The investigations were conducted by France, ten arrest warrants have been executed in Germany alone. "The checks and arrests are another strong blow against the brutal international criminality of refugee smuggling," said German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.

Now she and her British counterpart, Yvette Cooper, have signed a long-planned agreement to cooperate in the future in the fight against smugglers. "These gangs, who pack people with threats and violence into dinghies and send them across the English Channel, put these people's lives at risk," Social Democrat minister Faeser pointed out.

Preparation for these illegal crossings is often done in Germany. "Against this unscrupulous business with people's suffering, we will now oppose it more strongly together." The focus of the agreement is on closer police cooperation, particularly in tracking the routes of smuggling networks and the flow of illegal money. It will also have a direct connection with the new British border security command (Border Security Command), which is responsible for the security of the borders of Great Britain.

For years, more and more immigrants have been crossing the English Channel from France to Great Britain. Many of the immigrants come from Afghanistan, Turkey and Iran. Most of them go to England because they know the English language or because they have relatives or friends there. Many are convinced that it is easier to find a job in Great Britain even without a residence permit. Lengthy asylum procedures in France are causing people to leave.

If, according to the British Home Office, in 2020 there were about 8,000 people who entered Great Britain, this year the number of immigrants who arrived illegally by boat is over 33,000 - these are the latest data at the beginning of December 2024. If once immigrants were hiding in cargo ships or boarded Eurostar trains illegally, now, due to stricter controls, this is no longer possible. Therefore, crossing the channel by boat remains the only option. But such a voyage can turn into a deadly circle for them.

During the attempt to cross the English Channel, serious accidents constantly occur. At least 72 people have lost their lives in 2024 trying to sail illegally through the canal, according to data from the German Interior Ministry.

The fight against irregular immigration is getting tougher

The new agreement is also related to the immigration policy of Great Britain. The previous government wanted to transfer illegal immigrants – regardless of their origin – to Rwanda. For this, she was severely criticized by the Supreme Court in Great Britain as well as by human rights organizations.

Border controls have also become increasingly strict. France and the UK agreed to an agreement at the end of 2022, which provides for more police patrols on beaches in the north of France. Up to 100 additional law enforcement, helicopters, drones and sniffer dogs have been deployed by the French side. For this, according to the agreement, Great Britain pays about 72 million euros. Now Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government is beefing up border security and cracking down on smugglers.

"The new agreement is in the context of other strict measures in the European space, such as the application of border controls," says Sabine Hess from the University of Göttingen in Germany for "Deutsche Welle". Hess conducts research in her chair with a particular focus on immigration and border regulations. "Great Britain with these strict measures aims to stop immigration even further."

Strict measures keep 'business booming'

According to Hess, the fight against smugglers is "hypocrisy". "It is precisely these aggravations that produce the problem that they want to fight," she says. "The policy of toughening the measures makes the business flourish. If there are more and more controls, more and more smugglers will be activated, who are well aware of the weak points of the controls that are applied."

"Added to this is the fact that probably not only the big mafia operates in this business, but also smuggling that consists of many small mosaic stones," Hess told DW. They are often 'small fish', caught on the run and criminalized. "It often happens that those who become smugglers were on the run themselves. Organized smugglers know how to avoid danger." This is confirmed in an interview for "Mediendienst Integration" by researcher David Suber from University College in London. "Most act spontaneously. They are often, for example, refugees or immigrants who find themselves on the road to another country." The large smuggling networks actually constitute only "a minority."

According to an agreement with the UN, a people smuggler is considered "who acts with intent for a direct or indirect financial gain or any other advantage". In the EU Parliament this week, the toughening of measures against smugglers is being discussed. Rescue teams at sea criticize the new draft law, because the aspect of financial non-profit will not play any role in it. It means that: "Even if someone takes immigrants for humanitarian reasons and does not ask for money in return, he is considered a smuggler," says Hess./ DW