Strict asylum rules, poor treatment of migrants push people north to UK

Migrant children picked up at sea attempting to cross the English Channel are helped from a vessel after arriving at the marina in Dover, southeast England, on June 12, 2024. More than 10,000 irregular migrants have crossed the Channel to Britain on small boats this year. Migrants, including a child, picked up at sea attempting to cross the English Channel from France are escorted ashore in Dover, southeast England, on June 12, 2024.

The rising tide crept above their waists, soaking the babies they hugged tight. Around a dozen Kurds refused to leave the cold waters of the English Channel in a futile attempt to delay the inevitable: French police had just foiled their latest attempt to reach the United Kingdom by boat.