Over 2,000 Illegals Arrive in First Two Weeks Under New PM
Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces a continuing illegal immigration crisis as over 2,000 migrants crossed the English Channel in his first two weeks in office despite pledges to be "relentless" on border control.
A further 326 illegal migrants successfully crossed the English Channel from France on Saturday aboard people-smuggler-coordinated small boats, bringing the total since Burnham assumed office last month to 2,057.
The figures represent a modest uptick compared to the same period in 2025, when 1,962 migrants made the crossing, Breitbart News reports. While not a dramatic surge, the numbers undermine Labour Party claims that their border strategy is succeeding.
The border crisis under Burnham reached its peak for the year on Wednesday, when authorities brought 752 migrants ashore in a single 24-hour period.
The new prime minister has endorsed the approach implemented by his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, pointing to figures showing approximately 14,526 crossings since the beginning of the year, down from previous annual totals. Nevertheless, Burnham appears concerned that the migration issue threatens to overshadow his early days in office.
During a weekend appearance at the migrant landing hotspot of Dover, Burnham pledged to be “relentless” in tackling the boat arrivals. Yet his remarks suggested the government views the challenge primarily as one of public perception rather than substantive policy failure.
Burnham stated that Britons dislike the appearance of an uncontrolled border and insisted the government is gradually implementing a different approach to the issue, though he offered little in the way of concrete new measures.
Failed Strategies and Legal Obstacles
Sir Keir Starmer, who was removed from office in an internal Labour Party coup, had promised to “smash” the people-smuggling gangs operating across the Channel. This strategy replaced the previous Conservative government’s Rwanda deportation scheme, which would have sent illegal boat migrants to processing centres in the African nation.
The Rwanda plan was blocked by open-borders legal activists in Britain and the European Court of Human Rights, a globalist institution from which the United Kingdom has not withdrawn despite Brexit. The ECHR is technically separate from the European Union.
In an ironic development, the European Parliament recently approved a proposal allowing member states to establish asylum centres in third countries, potentially enabling EU nations to utilize the very same Rwandan facilities originally intended for Britain’s use.
Opposition Demands Tougher Action
Opposition leader Nigel Farage has dismissed the “smashing the gangs” approach as fundamentally ineffective, arguing that new criminal networks will inevitably replace those dismantled due to the profitable nature of people smuggling.
Farage’s Reform Party has outlined an alternative strategy calling for Britain’s withdrawal from the ECHR to regain full border control, mass deportation of all illegal immigrants currently in the country, and a ban on foreigners accessing welfare benefits to eliminate pull factors attracting migrants to British territory. The party has also proposed deploying the Royal Navy in the English Channel to physically prevent further arrivals.
As Burnham’s government enters its third week, the continuing flow of illegal migrants across the Channel demonstrates that Labour has no more answers to this crisis than the Conservative administrations that preceded it.
With information from Breitbart News
