As we look at the crisis at the Channel coastline, it’s worth observing that we’re dealing with an issue we can’t control. The numbers are pre-determined by agents of criminality, and are not our responsibility.
However, the capture of data, recording of people’s movements, and processing of their next steps is exactly our business. It’s the job of a state to make sure undocumented people are accounted for.
Since the start of this year, 25,000+ people have made it across the strait of water off the French coast. It’s a staggering figure, and it shows how determined criminals can be to settle people here in droves.
The issue of course is that, once arrived, these problems only increase because we don’t have a quick returns procedure. The crisis unfolded in ways too quick to begin with, and it’s a tough nut to crack.
The government’s announcements are helpful, and follow the Covid days of keeping people informed, but there’s a lingering doubt over the presence of so many people who’ve nowhere fixed to live.
It’s the sort of crisis some governments are made for, and others broken by, as the issues that have to be navigated are of such high sensitivity, and the stakes too large, it risks the future of the nation itself.
