#NEWS FLASH! Illegal Migrants crossing the Channel In Boats! Check future updates

Linda Aitken-Smith
Nov 3, 2025
19 min read

Updated: Mar 2

#NEWS FLASH!

So far this year their has been since the 1st January 2026

to date (01.03.2026) Migrants: 2,209 ...In 35 Boats.

From 01.01.2025 to 01.03.2025, inc Migrants: 2,124 ...In 40 Boats

This time last year, we had 85 more Migrants In 5 more Boats. So there were fewer Migrants (2,209) this year to date 01.03.2026, which could be down to the Bad Weather or Operation Overlord destroying Boats they found that could have been used if the weather had been better, and we could have had thousands more Migrants coming over.

Newsflash!

Since Operation Overlord landed on the Beaches Of Normandy in France... on 24th February 2026 to date (22.02.2026), No Migrants in Boats= On 7 Full Days, in the past week.

Only 322 Migrants crossed in 5 Boats on 1 Day! from 8th February to 15.02.2026 inclusive, and No more Illegal migrants crossed the Channel over the next 7 days to 22.01.2026 inclusive. But during the bad weather, they may be crossing in trucks! As the People Smugglers who were supplying the Boats to get the Illegal Migrants to the UK will have found another strategy to achieve the goal of getting the Migrants to the UK, so the money would still be coming in....

People-smuggling gangs are highly adaptive and have developed new tactics, such as the use of "taxi boats" and simultaneous launches, in response to increased enforcement and crackdowns on traditional methods

. These criminal enterprises are motivated by profit and continue to find ways to operate. Current adaptive strategies used by smuggling gangs include:

Concealment in Vehicles: While small boats are currently the primary method, smugglers also continue to use other means, such as hiding migrants in lorries and containers, by creating vehicle modifications like fake floors, a method which became more expensive and less common after Brexit and the pandemic, but is still a potential route.

Maybe they should use heat scanners to check for the body heat of migrants hiding in lorries so they can be detected, processed and deported within 24 hours instead of taking them to posh hotels...and a constant supply of food and more.

Quote: Heat scanners and thermal imaging technology are already being used and developed to detect people hiding in lorries, as they can identify human body heat behind curtains, inside containers, and through materials

"Taxi Boat" Systems: Smugglers use a "taxi boat" method where boats are launched from distant, secret locations, sometimes up to 100 km away, and then collect migrants from agreed-upon points in shallow water along the coast to avoid immediate detection by French police patrols.
Simultaneous Launches: Gangs coordinate multiple boat launches at the same time to overwhelm the search and rescue efforts and interception capabilities of French and UK authorities across the wide shoreline.
Online Advertising and Recruitment: Social media platforms are heavily used by gangs to advertise their services, offer "package deals" including accommodation and employment, and provide endorsements via videos from successful migrants.
Larger, More Crowded Boats: Smugglers are increasingly using larger, more crowded inflatable boats, increasing the number of migrants per vessel and the danger of the crossing, but also the potential profit per journey.
Diversionary Tactics: Smaller, less crowded boats are sometimes sent out as a first wave to distract police resources while larger vessels attempt crossings elsewhere.
So the Smugglers may be using their own Lorries to get Illegal Migrants into the UK.

As the operations and those of Border Force and its security contractors will be closely monitored by the migrants and smuggling gangs to identify and be ready to exploit any weaknesses.

Maybe they should use heat scanners to check for the body heat of migrants hiding in lorries so they can be detected, processed and deported within a 24-hour period instead of taking them to posh hotels...and a constant supply of food and more.

Even though the UK and French governments have introduced new laws and cooperation agreements, such as the power to seize electronic devices and the 'one-in, one-out' returns pilot scheme, with the specific aim of disrupting these changing business models and preventing crossings.

However, experts and officials note that the gangs are often one step ahead, continually adapting their operations to bypass new measures.

The Labour Government have let them know via the Internet, TV & Radio... what they are going to do, to try and stop the People Smuggling Gangs.

Instead of using covert operations (secret hidden actions) by maintaining radio silence, and then going in and catching them unawares and arresting them.

They should use the armed forces and the navy

To stop the migrants at Sea by the Navy and Border Force and turning the Migrants in Boats back, the Italians are doing this

Quote: Italy’s prime minister says her government will deploy every tool at its disposal to “guarantee the security of our borders” after approving a bill authorising naval blockades to stop boats from arriving in Italy during periods of “exceptional pressure”. Check out the link at the end of this Blog. (Italian PM vows to secure borders and approves bill allowing naval blockades)

And also having the Armed Forces patrolling the beaches and the port of Dover and the UK entrance to the Channel Tunnel, which starts (or ends) in Folkestone, Kent, in the United Kingdom. Specifically, the Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal is located in Cheriton, where vehicles are loaded onto trains (Folkestone, Kent (CT18 8XX), located just off the M20 motorway.

It is approximately 10 miles (15-20 minutes' drive) from Dover, making it very close to the Dover/Deal area where migrants arriving by small boat are often taken for processing.

So the People smuggling gangs could be using the Eurotunnel to get Illegal Migrants across, hidden in Lorries and containers, by creating vehicle modifications like fake floors. Then driving the Vehicles into the UK.

But conversely, choosing a "covert operation" (radio silence, secret actions) is usually done to ensure mission success through surprise and to achieve the objective, a method they will have used to win the Second World War.

Quote: Covert operations, characterised by secrecy, radio silence, and deception, were essential strategic tools used to secure Allied victory in the Second World War. These methods allowed smaller forces to achieve significant objectives by maximising the element of surprise. Such as the following, and many more.

Key examples and methods that helped win the war include:

Radio Silence & False Traffic (Operation Fortitude): Prior to D-Day, the Allies maintained radio silence regarding the real invasion fleet, while using fake radio traffic and inflatable tanks to create the illusion of a massive army (FUSAG) near Pas-de-Calais, pinning German forces away from Normandy.
.Breaking Codes (Ultra/Magic): While technically intelligence rather than a physical raid, the ultra-secret breaking of Enigma and Japanese codes provided a decisive, hidden advantage that allowed the Allies to anticipate enemy moves, with one study indicating that attacking with surprise, supported by such intelligence, was critical to success. We should use the methods they used in World War 2 to win the war.

Illegal Migrants who have paid People Smugglers

and arrived since 01.01.2018 to the Current date,

by Boat From France!

*There has been to date 01.03.2026(Inc:)

From 01.01.2018

194,819 Migrants arrived in 4,996 Boats

Since 2018, when records began, over 150,000+ people have

arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats,

with almost 37,000 arriving in 2024 alone.

So Far this Year in 2026

from 01.01.2026 to 01.03.2026 inc:

Migrants= 2,209 Boats= 35

Note: Information Above

Published every Monday

(not including Bank Holiday Monday). It will be published a day later.

There has been from 01.01.2018 to 31.12.2024 inclusive

151,138 Illegal Migrants who have come to the UK in 4,289 Boats

There has been from 01.01.2025 to 31.12.2025 inclusive

41,472 Illegal Migrants who have come to the UK in 672 Boats

supplied by Illegal People Traffickers.

Updated every Sunday...figures for the last 7 days for irregular

migrants attempting to cross the English Channel in small boats

without permission to enter (see below).

The statistics below are taken from provisional UK and French operational data and are subject to change. The small boat arrivals figures may differ from figures published in the final official statistics on Immigration system statistics under the topic “How many people come to the UK irregularly”, which will have undergone a more thorough quality assurance process.
The data published is provisional and subject to change, including reduction.

The Chart Below Shows
How many Migrants and the number of boats they came over in, who came from France, a safe country, after passing through other safe countries to reach the border of France, from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2025.
The Chart also shows how many Migrants came over in boats
from the1st of January 2025 to the 1st of March 2026.
It also shows dates from Monday to Sunday each week, Migrants who came over each week in Boats each day.
Also, a weekly summary every week from Monday to Sunday of each week, of how many Migrants came over and in how many Boats that week.
Check below, the current week and the previous weekly totals of Migrants and Boats for 23rd February to the current week to date, 1st of March 2026 inclusive and the running total from 01.01.2018 inclusive of migrants and boats to the current date stated.

Illegal Migrant And Boat Figures On The Chart Below...
On The Chart Below...
Will be updated every Monday with the previous weeks, Daily Totals and up-to-date totals to date, Monday to Sunday inclusive.

Date Of Arrival	Migrants'	Boats'	To Date Below...Migrants/ Boats Crossed the English Channel Since 01.01.2018 inc
From Monday 01.01.2018 to Wednesday 31.12.2025 inclusive	192,610	4,961	192,610/4961 To 31.12.2025
From Thursday 01.01.2026 to Sunday 01.03.2026 inclusive	2,209	35	194,819/4,996 To 01.03.2026
Sunday 22.02.2026	0	0	194,140/4,985
Monday 23.02.2026	0	0	194,140/4,985
Tuesday 24.02.2026	74	1	194,214/4,986
Wednesday 25.02.2026	605	10	194,819/4,996
Thursday 26.02.2026	0	0	194,819/4,996
Friday 27.02.2026	0	0	194,819/4,996
Saturday 28.02.2026	0	0	194,819/4,996
Sunday 01.03.2026	0	0	194,819/4,996
Total Migrants & Boats in 7 days	Migrants =	Boats=	On Week Ending Sunday, Total To Date From 01.01.2018 Migrants & Boats
Total Migrants & Boats in 7 days from 16.02.2026 to 22.02.2026 inclusive, (On w/e: Sunday 22.02.2026	0	0	194,140/4,985
Total Migrants & Boats in 7 days from 23.02.2026 to 01.03.2026 inclusive, (On w/e: Sunday 01.03.2026	679	10	194,819/4,996

Days With NO Migrants Crossing The Channel!

No Migrants crossed the Channel for~

14 Full Days' from 23rd October to 5th November 2025, inclusive...and again for

28 Full Days' from 15th November to 12th December 2025 inclusive.

This was the longest recorded period without small boat migrant arrivals across the channel in 7 years, lasting 28 days until the 12th December.

13 Full Days from 23rd December 2025 to 4th January 2026 inc.

8 Full Days from 6th January to 13th January 2026 inc.

13 Full Days from 20th January to 1st February 2026 inc.

05 Full Days from 03rd February to 7th February 2026 inc

12 Full Days from 10th February to 22nd February 2026 inc

04 Full Days from 26th February to 1st March 2026 inc

From /To	Full Days Of No Migrants in Boats	Migrants/Boats	Total So Far In 2026
January 1st to 31st 2026	26 Full Days	933/15	933 Migrants In 15 Boats
February 1st to 28th February 2026	23 Full Days	1,276/20	2,209 Migrants in 35 Boats

We now have Vigilantes (British Patriots), unearthing & destroying the Boats supplied by People Smuggling Gangs, so they can't be used! In addition to no boats coming across due to the bad weather!

Didn't the British Government pay the French to do that out of the taxes paid by hardworking British Citizens who are now also supporting all the Illegal Migrants who have come across to Britain since the year 2018, who are now claiming benefits and adding to the growing Benefits Bill!

If there weren't any more Illegal Migrants coming to Britain, then the British People would feel a lot safer going about their Daily Lives.

If the following were true, and it wasn't just a one-off due to bad weather, and the government had removed us from old, archaic laws that were made many decades ago and are no longer fit for purpose in the current time and situation. And removed every Migrant who had come to Britain illegally, then the British People wouldn't be so angry because they are fearful of what could happen to their families, as the illegal migrants are in this country free to roam wherever they want to at any time.

If instead of putting them up at the expense of the British Taxpayer in 4 and 5-star hotels with meals provided and free healthcare and days out.... they were turned back whilst at sea or put in a detention centre, and processed to prove they had tried to enter the UK illegally then deported within 48 hours then we wouldn't be in the situation we are in at the moment with a Government not looking after its legal citizens and making them feel like second class citizens, in their own country and letting more illegal migrants into the country thus increasing our debt and the interest on the UK Debt see weblink below at #UK Debt Clock at the end of this blog. as the costs incurred to date looking after the Illegal migrants who have come to Britain by boat or sometimes stowing away in trucks will have cost the UK Billions

No Migrants have crossed the Channel for~ 14 Full Days' from 23rd October to 5th November in 2025 inclusive... With only 220 Migrants in 3 Boats coming over on the 22nd of October 2025, and in the previous week, only 401 Migrants in 8 Boats.

Under the Labour Government, 60,196 Migrants in 1,026 Boats have crossed from France in the period from 4th July 2024 to 3rd November inclusive ( 673 days =16 months).

Over 5 years, that could equate to 225,735 Migrants that come to the UK in 3,847 boats from 4th July 2024 to 3rd July 2029, under the Labour Government.

Add the 127,896 Migrants in 3,866 Boats who have already come to this Country before 4th July 2024, from 01.01.2018 under the Conservative Government.

There would be a total of 353,631 Migrants who came to the UK in 7,713 Boats who will be living in the UK, in addition to the Legal British Citizens who were here before the Illegal Migrants started to come to Britain before 1st January 2018.

Official population figures are typically provided as mid-year estimates by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), so a precise figure for January 1, 2018, is not available. However, the mid-2017 figures serve as the closest official data point before that date.

The breakdown for the constituent countries in mid-2017 was:

England: 55.6 million
Scotland: 5.4 million
Wales: 3.1 million
Northern Ireland: 1.9 million
= to 66.0 Million in 2017 in the UK.

As of today, Tuesday, November 4, 2025, the estimated population of the United Kingdom (Britain) is approximately (sixty-nine million seven hundred thousand) in figures this is 69.7 million people.

And another 165,539 migrants in 44 months could come to the UK, and the Population of the UK could be = sixty-nine million eight hundred sixty-five thousand five hundred thirty-nine, in figures this is 69,865,539 who may have come across to the UK by 3rd July 2029

Sixty-nine million eight hundred sixty-five thousand five hundred thirty-nine -

This is an approximateincrease of one hundred sixty-five thousand five hundred thirty-nine

It could be down to the Bad Weather. We shall see in the coming weeks.

Or maybe the fact that the British Border Force has gone on strike and they won't be available to help them across, when our British Border Force should be turning all the boats back so they can't cross into British waters ("median line" or the "delimitation line). Our territorial sea waters from our British Beaches.)

The dividing line between French and British waters

If Border Force turned the Illegal Migrants back, they would do the same distance from France to the British maritime boundary, and back to France (if Border Force turned them back), as they would have if they had continued to cross into our waters to the Port of Dover or our Beaches.

The French would have to take them back as they would still be in their territorial waters, and they should then close and Police their Borders like the Polish do.

And we should send back any Migrants that have come to Britain from 01.01.2018 back across to France as well, as the Migrants have crossed through many Safe Countries before they even get to France. If they came across on boats supplied by the people smugglers or hid in a lorry as they didn't come across legally and disposed of their I.D so they couldn't be identified and came onto British land without a passport or permission to come into Britain as they could be living here under false details, as they could have made up their name etc and this should apply even if they have been given Asylum, as many were fast tracked to reduce the backlog, which we wouldn't have had if we had returned them citing that they were coming across on mass in boats (sometimes over-full). This was also an unsustainable migration and was threatening our economy due to the rising costs of keeping them.

We don't owe the French Government any loyalty or money (they should pay the money back) as they lied to us, as they knew there was a law already in place which wouldn't allow them to touch the Migrants when they had told the British Government in power at the time that they could stop the Migrants. They could have changed the law that would enable them to stop the Migrants and then deport them from France. And they continued to tell us they could stop the Migrants from getting to the UK.

We would not have had unsustainable Migration coming into Britain, with the ensuing rising costs to our economy due to the Billions spent on housing the Migrants and all the other related costs that were spent over the years, and the escalating problems of the illegal migrants being in Britain, as we would not have the recurring costs of housing and feeding the migrants or the rise in crimes such as knife crime, rape and sexual assaults, theft from our shops and more... since they started to come across from France illegally in boats, or the massive debt we now have.

If Border Force turned them back, they wouldn't have so much paperwork to process. And there wouldn't be a huge backlog for Asylum Cases if illegal migrants were turned away whilst at Sea.

Also, British Citizens are saying that the Border Force should lobby the Government to change the laws so that it would be easier to turn Illegal Migrants back to France, because the French Police are not stopping the Migrants.

After all, if the French Police had stopped all the boats on their shores and destroyed the boats, the People Smugglers wouldn't have been able to use them to get the migrants to the UK. We wouldn't now have this problem of Unsustainable Migration, and our Debt would not have gone into the Billions and then Trillions and rising fast + interest.

If any migrants manage to leave France in a boat supplied by the people smugglers, they should be destroyed, and the migrants arrested and deported within 48 hours back to France. We shouldn't have to return the boats to France; if the migrants do manage to get to the UK, they should just be destroyed.

British people are starting to comment on why we have a closed border for the Legal British Citizens to come through at Customs, and let the illegal migrants come in illegally without Passports.

As none of the illegal migrants should be in this country, as they have broken British laws by crossing the Channel between France and Britain by coming across in boats supplied by criminals and coming onto British land without a passport or permission to come into Britain the legal way.

Questions & Answers:

Q: Why should the British Public have to live in fear of being stabbed or raped... just by going about their everyday lives day or night.

A: Forget about reducing backlog, deport all illegal migrants who have crossed into Britain, even if they have been fast-tracked through the Asylum process, as they shouldn't be in Britain as they didn't come here through the legal channels. Many are here to earn money, economic Migrants possibly illegally through the Black Market, where they won't have to pay any tax, and are not true refugees

Q: What are the 5 reasons you can claim asylum?

A: Refugee or asylum status may be granted to aliens who have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, and/or political opinion.

Q: They are also saying that they think the French Government are not stopping the Migrants because they are taking Billions from the British Government but not actually stopping any of the Migrants from coming across to Britain.

A: So the British Government should demand the money they have given the French Government back in full and only pay towards the costs of Policing their borders (in arrears), to stop the Migrants, if no Migrants come to Britain via France, as that would hopefully stop the Migrants from coming to Britain.

Q: Does Border Force have the right to turn back at sea any illegal immigrants crossing in boats?

A: The UK Border Force's right to turn back boats of illegal immigrants at sea is a highly contested issue with significant legal and safety constraints

. While the government has asserted that "pushback" tactics are legal in limited and specific circumstances, their use is heavily restricted by international and domestic law, particularly the paramount duty to protect life at sea.

French Cooperation: The French government has strongly opposed the UK's pushback policy, arguing that it breaches maritime law. For a pushback operation to be feasible, the French authorities would need to be willing to intercept and rescue the migrants once they are turned back into French waters, which they have generally refused to do.
Nationality and Borders Act: The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 gave Border Force officials powers to stop, board, divert, and detain vessels, including potentially in international or foreign waters (subject to agreement with other states). It also included provisions to grant immunity from criminal or civil liability to officials using these powers in "good faith," but legal experts and human rights bodies have raised concerns that this might be incompatible with human rights obligations and the duty to investigate deaths.

*The dividing line between French and British waters

It is generally referred to as the"median line" or the "delimitation line".

This maritime boundary, which runs through the English Channel (or La Manche in French) and the North Sea, was established through a series of international arbitrations and bilateral agreements between the two countries, notably the 1977 Continental Shelf Arbitration and subsequent agreements in the 1980s and 1990s.

Key aspects:

Territorial Waters: Both the UK and France claim a territorial sea of up to 12 nautical miles from their coasts. In the narrowest part of the Channel, the Strait of Dover (about 21 miles wide), these territorial waters meet, and the boundary is a negotiated line.
Continental Shelf and EEZ: For areas beyond the territorial sea, the boundary for the continental shelf and exclusive economic zones (EEZ) is determined by an agreed-upon simplified equidistance line, or a median line where every point is equidistant from the nearest points on the baselines of both countries.
Channel Islands: The presence of the British Channel Islands close to the French coast complicated the delimitation, and a special arrangement (giving them "half-effect" or semi-enclaving them) was decided by a Court of Arbitration to achieve an equitable solution.
Channel Tunnel: Within the Channel Tunnel itself, the border is a fixed land frontier located halfway along the tunnel, as defined by the 1986 Treaty of Canterbury.

Maybe the real answer is to come out of the ECHR and the Human Rights Laws as the British Citizens are saying what about the rights of those who are stabbed sometimes fatally or raped, including children by illegal migrants as we don't know who they really are, as they have disposed of any identification that could identify them, and they may already have criminal records in their Country of origin, and illegal migrants think they can do the same as they can in their Country.

Don't give unauthorised migrants legal status in Britain, or it may increase Illegal (irregular) immigration in the future. They should also not be regularised even if they have lived continuously in the UK for a very long period, despite not having legal permission to do so.

There are four main ways for a person to become an unauthorised migrant in the UK: enter regularly on a visa and overstay, enter without authorisation, remain after asylum application avenues are exhausted, or be born in the UK to irregular migrant parents.

Illegal Migrants should have no right to stay in Britain unless they apply from their own country legally and are accepted. They have a job and a place to stay funded by the Legal Migrant, not out of the money the government was paid from taxes from British citizens.

The News on the Huntingdon train stabbings...

This has made many British citizens feel anxious and question why we are still allowing Illegal migrants to come into Britain and not deporting all illegal migrants.

Passengers travelling from Doncaster to London were attacked in a mass stabbing on a train on Saturday night.

A “brave” train worker remained in a life-threatening condition after attempting to stop the knifeman, while the driver was praised for diverting the service into an emergency stop at Huntingdon station

Eleven people received treatment in the hospital following the attack.

Two British men in their 30s were initially arrested, and police said there was "nothing to suggest" it was a terror incident.

Anthony Williams, 32, from Peterborough, was charged on Monday with 10 counts of attempted murder.

The other man arrested has been released with no further action.

Witnesses reported that police used a Taser on one man who was holding a knife.

Cambridgeshire police are reviewing three further incidents, including the stabbing of a 14-year-old in Peterborough, to establish whether there is a connection between them and the Huntingdon train attack.

Stopping Illegal Migrants and deporting them ALL who have come across since the beginning of 2018 would save millions, and the debt would not go up as fast as it is doing. As we would not be paying out billions to house Illegal Migrants or pay for all the court cases for them to appeal asylum claims that they should not have been allowed to apply for, as they didn't come across legally to the UK, so there would be no backlog of asylum claims and subsequently our Court Cases wouldn't be taking so long to put through the courtsdue to the migrants using our legal system for free.

By coming to the UK illegally, Migrants have already started the deportation process by coming here illegally, so their return has already begun, so the Government should stop dragging their feet - No More Excuses. We don't want our Countryside, Villages, our towns or our Cities to be ruined forever.

All migrants who didn't come here the legal way, and who didn't pay all the fees themselves for applying to enter the UK legally or find their own accommodation at their own expense and who didn't have the written proof they had been offered a job ( the UK needs and those applying have the qualifications for), should not have been allowed to enter the UK.

Those who have applied legally to come here and work in the UK and British Citizens here legally who have links to Ancestors for centuries.

The British people here legally want our Country back!

I read the following from Patrick Christy from GBN News.

I totally agree with this statement below. Click on the link. He is very straightforward and to the point; he tells it like it really is.

All they need to do to cut any risk from illegal asylum seekers is to lock them up on entry and let them know they're going nowhere unless they go back home.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/729045084938657/

#UK Debt Clock

https://www.nationaldebtclock.co.uk/