UK-France migrant returns deal takes effect

LONDON

A "one-in, one-out" deal in which Britain can return some migrants who cross the Channel in small boats back to France came into force Tuesday, the U.K. government announced.

The Interior Ministry said that British authorities were "operationally ready" and that migrant detentions were expected to begin "within days" following ratification of the agreement.

"Today we send a clear message: If you come here illegally on a small boat you will face being sent back to France," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement after striking the deal with French President Emmanuel Macron last month.

The agreement seeks to curb record levels of irregular Channel crossings that are causing discontent in Britain and helping fuel the rise of the hard-right Reform UK party.

Under the arrangement, for now a pilot scheme set to run until June 2026, irregular migrants arriving on U.K. shores could be detained and returned to France if they are deemed ineligible for asylum.

In exchange, the U.K. will accept an equal number of migrants from France who can apply for asylum via an online platform, giving priority to nationalities most vulnerable to smugglers and to people with ties in Britain.

The two governments signed the final text last week, with the EU Commission giving its "green light on this innovative approach," Britain's Home Office said in a statement late Aug. 4.

"The unscrupulous business model of smugglers must be broken," the European Union's migration commissioner Magnus Brunner wrote on X Tuesday.

But refugee charities have criticized the deal, urging the British government to provide more safe and legal routes for asylum seekers instead.

The number of migrants making the dangerous journey in flimsy dinghies this year crossed 25,000 at the end of July, the highest tally ever at this point in the year.