New UK Law Targets Small Boat Crossings, Often by Albanians

The UK government introduced to parliament on Tuesday proposed legislation, dubbed the 'Stop the Boats' bill, to crack down on illegal migration, in many cases by Albanians using small boats to cross the Channel from France.

The UK Home Office says that 11,102 Albanians arrived to the coast by small boat between May and September last year, up from 815 during the whole of 2021 and fuelling dramatic tabloid claims about an invasion of illegal immigrants from the Balkan country.

The new bill claims to make it easier for UK authorities to detain and deport people who arrive illegally. It also includes a new "dedicated unit to speed up the processing of Albanian cases," the Home Office said on Tuesday. More than 500 Albanians have already been returned since December.

The issue has strained relations between the UK and Albania; UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to do more to tackle illegal migration and organised crime, but his Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, has criticised the alarmist and often discriminatory rhetoric employed by some UK politicians.

In December, the two countries agreed to join forces in a task force to tackle crime and illegal immigration, but on January 16 Tirana delivered a protest note to the British ambassador over comments made by UK Minister of State Robert Jenrick during a visit to an immigration centre.

"I've been meeting the fantastic staff who are working round the clock to find the Albanians, to detain them, to put them onto coaches, to take them to the airport and get them back to Tirana," Jenrick said in a video posted on Twitter.