Record 28,000 Migrants Cross Channel in 2025, Pressuring Starmer on Immigration

A record 28,076 migrants have crossed the Channel to Britain in small boats so far this year, a 46% rise on the same period in 2024, government figures showed Monday, intensifying pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer over immigration.

The milestone was reached Sunday after 212 people arrived in four boats. The surge comes amid growing public concern over immigration—now polling as the country’s top issue—and protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers.

Starmer’s Labour government has pledged to phase out hotel use for migrants by 2029 and overhaul the asylum system. On Sunday it announced reforms to speed up appeals and clear a backlog of more than 100,000 cases. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the changes aimed to restore “control and order” to a system in “complete chaos.”

Official data last week also showed asylum claims at a record high. Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has vowed “mass deportations,” including withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights, building detention centers for 24,000 people, and striking repatriation deals with countries such as Afghanistan and Eritrea.