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| As Migrants Reach U.K. by Boat, Numbers Are Small but Worry Is Big | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| LONDON — Day after day, news reports in Britain prominently feature migrants making the perilous trip across the English Channel in small boats, including a dozen who landed on Monday. Headlines and anti-immigration politicians call it a crisis, and the cabinet member in charge of migration policy has labeled it a “major incident” fueled by criminal gangs. | LONDON — Day after day, news reports in Britain prominently feature migrants making the perilous trip across the English Channel in small boats, including a dozen who landed on Monday. Headlines and anti-immigration politicians call it a crisis, and the cabinet member in charge of migration policy has labeled it a “major incident” fueled by criminal gangs. |
| The total number of people, primarily from Iran, who have made the journey and requested asylum since early November is only about 240, in a country that has averaged about 25,000 asylum applicants per year over the last decade. | The total number of people, primarily from Iran, who have made the journey and requested asylum since early November is only about 240, in a country that has averaged about 25,000 asylum applicants per year over the last decade. |
| What is new is that they are regularly smuggled into Britain by boat — which used to be fairly rare — supplying jarring pictures of people being pulled from foundering little craft in rough seas, or being taken into custody on beaches. | What is new is that they are regularly smuggled into Britain by boat — which used to be fairly rare — supplying jarring pictures of people being pulled from foundering little craft in rough seas, or being taken into custody on beaches. |
| And it comes at a tense moment in the nation’s politics, as Prime Minister Theresa May tries to arrange a divorce from the European Union — a process, known as Brexit, that has largely been driven by anxiety over immigration — while fending off calls from Brexit opponents for a second referendum on the matter. | And it comes at a tense moment in the nation’s politics, as Prime Minister Theresa May tries to arrange a divorce from the European Union — a process, known as Brexit, that has largely been driven by anxiety over immigration — while fending off calls from Brexit opponents for a second referendum on the matter. |
| “This is primarily about a political problem in the U.K., rather than an actual migration problem,” aside from the serious risk to the people in boats, said Robert McNeil, the deputy directory of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford. | “This is primarily about a political problem in the U.K., rather than an actual migration problem,” aside from the serious risk to the people in boats, said Robert McNeil, the deputy directory of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford. |
| “Numerically, this is a blip,” he said. “Certainly you cannot say that 200 people arriving over a two-month period by clandestine means is a crisis, or is even unusual.” | “Numerically, this is a blip,” he said. “Certainly you cannot say that 200 people arriving over a two-month period by clandestine means is a crisis, or is even unusual.” |
| Migrants have long crossed the Channel from France unauthorized, but their main tactic kept them out of the public eye: They hid inside trucks that went onto ferries or trains. That has become much harder in the last two years as the British authorities have intensified vehicle checks. | Migrants have long crossed the Channel from France unauthorized, but their main tactic kept them out of the public eye: They hid inside trucks that went onto ferries or trains. That has become much harder in the last two years as the British authorities have intensified vehicle checks. |
| “The only other option left to the people in the area hoping to get into Britain is crossing by boat,” said Nando Sigona, who teaches about international migration at the University of Birmingham and has written extensively on the topic. | “The only other option left to the people in the area hoping to get into Britain is crossing by boat,” said Nando Sigona, who teaches about international migration at the University of Birmingham and has written extensively on the topic. |
| The BBC reported in November that smugglers were telling migrants in France that it would be much harder to get into Britain after Brexit, which is scheduled to take effect on March 29. Immigration experts say there is little evidence for that claim. | The BBC reported in November that smugglers were telling migrants in France that it would be much harder to get into Britain after Brexit, which is scheduled to take effect on March 29. Immigration experts say there is little evidence for that claim. |
| The home secretary, Sajid Javid, who oversees migration policy, cut short a South African vacation because of the flurry of boats. In an opinion column in The Daily Telegraph on Monday, he noted the deadly risks in crossing by boat, and listed steps he and the French authorities were taking to address the problem. | The home secretary, Sajid Javid, who oversees migration policy, cut short a South African vacation because of the flurry of boats. In an opinion column in The Daily Telegraph on Monday, he noted the deadly risks in crossing by boat, and listed steps he and the French authorities were taking to address the problem. |
| “Organized crime gangs are targeting and profiteering from these vulnerable and often desperate people,” Mr. Javid wrote. | “Organized crime gangs are targeting and profiteering from these vulnerable and often desperate people,” Mr. Javid wrote. |
| But critics on the left suggested that Mrs. May’s Conservative government and sympathetic newspapers were exaggerating the problem to win backing for a Brexit agreement that she seems unable to get through Parliament. They note that during the Brexit campaign in 2016, the measure’s backers stoked fears of Europe’s migration crisis to generate support. | But critics on the left suggested that Mrs. May’s Conservative government and sympathetic newspapers were exaggerating the problem to win backing for a Brexit agreement that she seems unable to get through Parliament. They note that during the Brexit campaign in 2016, the measure’s backers stoked fears of Europe’s migration crisis to generate support. |
| “I think for the government, the appearance of a migration crisis is very convenient at the moment,” Mr. Sigona said. | “I think for the government, the appearance of a migration crisis is very convenient at the moment,” Mr. Sigona said. |
| A main reason 52 percent of British voters endorsed Brexit in June 2016 was to retake control of immigration policy from Brussels and limit the number of people entering the country. Millions of foreigners live in Britain, most of them legally, and most from other European Union countries. | A main reason 52 percent of British voters endorsed Brexit in June 2016 was to retake control of immigration policy from Brussels and limit the number of people entering the country. Millions of foreigners live in Britain, most of them legally, and most from other European Union countries. |
| Hundreds of thousands of others live in the country illegally, but most of those are people who have overstayed student, work or tourist visas. | Hundreds of thousands of others live in the country illegally, but most of those are people who have overstayed student, work or tourist visas. |
| In 2015 and 2016, more than a million people flooded into Europe, the largest number fleeing the war in Syria. Yet relatively few made their way to Britain. | In 2015 and 2016, more than a million people flooded into Europe, the largest number fleeing the war in Syria. Yet relatively few made their way to Britain. |
| Similarly, the number now crossing the Channel may not be large, but it has outsize psychological and political resonance, Mr. McNeil said. | Similarly, the number now crossing the Channel may not be large, but it has outsize psychological and political resonance, Mr. McNeil said. |
| “The sheer spectacle of people arriving on boats evokes this larger concept of a migrant crisis, after all the images we’ve seen from the Mediterranean,” he said. “It also strikes at something fundamentally British, which is this idea that Britain is defended by its sea borders.” | “The sheer spectacle of people arriving on boats evokes this larger concept of a migrant crisis, after all the images we’ve seen from the Mediterranean,” he said. “It also strikes at something fundamentally British, which is this idea that Britain is defended by its sea borders.” |
| Most of the migrants are from Iran, Syria or neighboring countries. In recent years, more asylum applicants in Britain have come from Iran than any other country. | Most of the migrants are from Iran, Syria or neighboring countries. In recent years, more asylum applicants in Britain have come from Iran than any other country. |
| Migration experts speculated that many of the migrants could be ethnic Kurds, who face oppression in several countries, and that renewed United States sanctions on Iran could be fueling an exodus. | Migration experts speculated that many of the migrants could be ethnic Kurds, who face oppression in several countries, and that renewed United States sanctions on Iran could be fueling an exodus. |
| The oddest wrinkle to the story may originate far from Britain or the Middle East. In August 2017, Serbia’s government began allowing Iranian citizens to travel to Serbia without visas. | The oddest wrinkle to the story may originate far from Britain or the Middle East. In August 2017, Serbia’s government began allowing Iranian citizens to travel to Serbia without visas. |
| Around 15,000 Iranians took advantage of the new system, and the Serb news media and some officials reported that many of them had used it as a way to relocate long-term to Europe. Under pressure from the European Union, Serbia reinstated the visa requirement this October. | Around 15,000 Iranians took advantage of the new system, and the Serb news media and some officials reported that many of them had used it as a way to relocate long-term to Europe. Under pressure from the European Union, Serbia reinstated the visa requirement this October. |