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Home Secretary says 'unprecedented levels of illegal migration are totally unacceptable for our country and our values' Ms Braverman said there was "no good reason for someone to get on a small boat and go across the Channel" to the UK. Migrants arriving in the UK via the English Channel on small boats "possess values that are at odds with our country" with "increased levels of crime", Suella Braverman said.
“I think the unprecedented and unchecked levels of illegal migration are completely unacceptable for our country and our values,” he told LBC.
Asked if she agreed with Immigration Secretary Robert Jenrick's view that uncontrolled migration 'threatens to cannibalize the compassion of the British public', the Home Secretary replied: "I think the people who come here illegally hold values that are at odds with our country.
“We see higher levels of crime when they are linked to people who have come in boats linked to drug trafficking, exploitation, prostitution.
“There are real challenges that go beyond the immigration issue of people who come here illegally. We have to make sure we stop the boat crossings.
Jenrick had said on Tuesday that an 'astronomical' number of migrants were crossing the Channel to the UK and that he was concerned how the 'different lifestyles' of those arriving could undermine 'cultural cohesion'.
The Home Secretary said her claim that Canal migrants were more likely to be criminals was based on information from police chiefs.
Ms Braverman said that while "not all" immigrants are involved in crime, "it becomes a notable feature of everyday crime fighting in England and Wales."
He did not say if he had any numbers to back up that claim. But the Home Secretary was asked if this was based on empirical evidence, adding: "I consider police chiefs to be experts in their field and authoritative sources of information."
Ms Braverman also confirmed on Wednesday that Sudanese refugees arriving in the UK on small boats "have come here illegally" and risk deportation.
The interior minister said people fleeing the conflict in Sudan would be detained and could be returned to Rwanda under the government's illegal immigration bill.
“There is no good reason for someone to get on a small boat and cross the English Channel looking for a life in the UK,” Braverman said when asked what would happen to Sudanese asylum seekers who arrive in the UK. country.
The British government does not plan to launch a tailor-made program for the country like those used for Ukraine and Afghanistan and is only evacuating British citizens and embassy staff.
Nearly 4,000 Sudanese migrants in small boats have crossed the Canal since 2020, already the eighth highest nationality to use the route.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said Tuesday that number will "probably" rise due to the crisis. He urged those fleeing the conflict to "seek refuge in the first safe country they arrive in."
The Home Secretary told Sky News on Wednesday that there were "various mechanisms" for those fleeing Sudan to seek asylum in the UK. "UNHCR is present in the area and is the correct mechanism through which people should apply for asylum in the UK," he said.
There is no asylum visa for people who want to travel to the UK legally, and it is unclear how people could virtually apply for other types of visas and take commercial flights to Britain amid the chaos in Khartoum.
Conservative MPs including Tim Loughton have urged the government to commit to setting up safe and legal routes for asylum seekers to reach the UK without traveling by small boat.
Braverman, whose Illegal Migration Bill returns to parliament on Wednesday, said the bill was necessary because "we are seeing an unacceptable number of people coming here illegally."
Suella Braverman said those arriving in the UK on small boats have "higher crime levels".
PA wire
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