The government has repeatedly insisted that complex criminal networks are pushing people seeking asylum in the UK to cross the English Channel. Of all the controversial claims made by the Secretary of the Interior on this issue, it remains one of the most popular.
As always, after the drowning incident on Wednesday, Priti Patel wasted little time Reiterate her determination To “smash the criminal gangs behind these border crossings.”
Talking to people working on the front lines, or talking to the asylum-seekers themselves, creates a more subtle picture that challenges attempts to attribute border crossings to the ill-defined and homogenous “evil” criminal underworld.
Many border crossings-some people think this is the overwhelming majority-are facilitated by families getting together to buy small boats from shops France, This is a simple and legal thing to do in pursuit of a legal goal, that is, to apply for asylum in the UK.
Family members may meet during a long trip from Syria or Iran; friends and relatives exchange tips and get advice from people who have crossed the river before. Women and children are said to receive free beds from compassionate asylum seekers.
The evidence for this alternative reality comes from the National Crime Agency, which was directly appointed by Patel to lead the British investigation of Channel smugglers. Its insight into this issue is crucial.
Hours after the news of the tragedy came out, the NCA confirmed that it was witnessing the “self-promotion” of asylum seekers, in other words, those who bought ships for transit.To emphasize the absence of criminal acts, it added that they saw “immigrants working together informally without OCG [organised criminal group] participate”.
Patel regards such evidence as inconvenient facts. Instead, her statement after the tragedy only cited “criminals behind the journey, who threatened, intimidated, bullied and attacked those who entered these ships.”
Obviously, some smugglers are unscrupulous, but those who ultimately rely on them often regard them as part of the service industry. They wanted to reach Britain, and the smugglers provided the means.
Patel has a variety of motives for giving the impression that immigrants are being relentlessly exploited. First, her remarks against the “evil” business model of criminal gangs enabled the government to appear as a good person. This is a particularly dishonest position. After all, some people believe that by rejecting safe asylum routes, the Ministry of the Interior has created its demonized business model.
Second, by focusing on the elements of crime, it can be said that she hopes to plant a statement that people trying to claim asylum is illegal.
Finally, the focus on crime allowed the Ministry of the Interior to promote greater security at the borders of the strait, a process that increased inspections of trucks and directly led to the transit of small boats.
Ironically, some analysts believe that the government’s attention to asylum-seekers in northern France (with a small number in history) may have encouraged some criminals to participate, mainly low-level criminals who could never meet the standards of an “organized criminal group”. opportunist.
Similarly, NCA provided more helpful evidence, stating that the ferry requires a “relatively low level of complexity.”
There is no need for organized criminal networks—for example, unlike the drug trade, where large amounts of money, connections to buy high-purity products at wholesale prices, and a cautious, credible distribution system are just to stay in the circle.
How many smugglers are involved is just a guess. So far Despite the deployment of a lot of resourcesPatel admitted that only 17 OCGs had been “dismantled” – equivalent to one for every 4,500 immigrants attempting to cross the border this year.
In addition to political noise, there is an unchanging truth. This is the futility of trying to stop what humans have been doing: migration.
