UK turns down ‘jungle migrants’
originally published:
18th September 2009
The UK Border Agency has rejected calls for Britain to accept some migrants from the illegal camp in Calais known as “the jungle”. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres had said the government should consider granting entry to those who already have large families in the UK. He spoke after French officials said the camp would be shut down imminently.
But the UK Border Agency said genuine asylum seekers should make their claim in the country where they enter Europe.
An agency spokesman said: “People seeking asylum should do so in the first safe country they come to, those who are not in need of protection will be expected to return home. “The decision to close illegal encampments in and around Calais is a matter for the French government and we will continue to cooperate with them on tackling illegal immigration.”
The camp has replaced official centres like Sangatte as a gathering point for migrants hoping to cross to Britain. Some 1,500 people, many of them from Iraq and Afghanistan, are now living in insanitary settlements close to the port.
France’s Immigration Minister Eric Besson told French television that imminent closure of the ‘jungle’ would send a strong message that people traffickers could no longer use Calais.
Follow-up News:
Calais Immigrant Squatter ‘Jungle’ Bulldozed
22nd September 2009
French police move on ‘jungle’ migrant camp
21st September 2009
