LONDON: Britain is treating the spike in migrants trying to cross the Channel in small boats as “a major incident,” its interior ministry said on Friday.
The move follows the interception of two more vessels carrying 12 migrants off the southeast English coast — the latest in a sharp increase in such cases over the Christmas week.
In the latest incidents, eight Iranian men were spotted in a small boat near the busy port of Dover at around 9am local time, and brought ashore for medical assessments and immigration interviews.
About six hours earlier, border officials detained a Syrian and three Iranians encountered on a dinghy in a similar area.
Interior Minister Sajid Javid held a conference call Friday with key officials, and has asked for an urgent call with his French counterpart this weekend, according to the ministry.
He has appointed a commander to oversee the response to the incidents and asked for daily updates, it said.
Javid is also assessing whether to deploy additional border enforcement vessels in the Channel amid fears it could encourage more people to try to make the crossing, the ministry added.
Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes will visit Dover on Saturday to discuss the situation on the ground with border officials.
On Thursday she called the rising number of migrant crossings “deeply concerning,” following the discovery of 23 Iranians in three locations in Kent.
Attempts to cross the English Channel — one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes — have been increasing since October, with authorities on both sides struggling to stop them.
UK treating rise in migrant Channel crossings as ‘major incident’
UK treating rise in migrant Channel crossings as ‘major incident’
- In the latest incidents, eight Iranian men were spotted in a small boat near the busy port of Dover at around 9am local time
- Home Secretary Sajid Javid held a conference call Friday with key officials
Man tackled to ground after spraying unknown substance on Rep. Ilhan Omar at Minneapolis town hall
- The audience cheered as he was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back
MINNEAPOLIS: A man wearing a black jacket was tackled to the ground after spraying an unknown substance on US Rep. Ilhan Omar at a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
The audience cheered as he was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back. In video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be heard saying, “Oh my god, he sprayed something on her.” Omar continued the town hall after the man was ushered out of the room.
Just before that Omar called for the abolishment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign. “ICE cannot be reformed,” she said.
Minneapolis police did not immediately respond to a phone call and email message seeking information on the incident and whether anyone was arrested.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday night.
President Donald Trump has frequently criticized the congresswoman and has stepped up verbal attacks on her in recent months as he turned his focus on Minneapolis.
During a Cabinet meeting in December, he called her “garbage” and added that “her friends are garbage.”
Hours earlier on Tuesday, the president criticized Omar as he spoke to a crowd in Iowa, saying his administration would only let in immigrants who “can show that they love our country.”
“They have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar,” he said, drawing loud boos at the mention of her name.
He added: “She comes from a country that’s a disaster. So probably, it’s considered, I think — it’s not even a country.”
Fellow US Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, R-S.C., denounced the assault on Omar.
“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today” Mace said via the social platform X. “Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric — and I do — no elected official should face physical attacks. This is not who we are.”
The attack came days after a man was arrested in Utah for allegedly punching US Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, in the face during the Sundance Film Festival and saying Trump was going to deport him.
