Britain's government is pulling a variety of policy levers to try to keep asylum-seekers out. But its proposals are largely misguided
By some yardsticks, this is trivial. Britain received 32,411 applications for asylum in the year to March. That is a third of the peak in the early 2000s and low by global standards. Britain ranked fifth among European countries for asylum claims in 2020, and 17th adjusting for population. Many poorer countriesBut the impact on domestic politics is out of all proportion to the number.
One approach is to make it harder to set out for Britain. On July 20th Priti Patel, the home secretary, agreed to pay the French government €62.7m for more patrols of the northern French coast. Another is to try to deter asylum-seekers by passing tough laws. A bill now before Parliament would criminalise those who arrive illegally, as most do.
Tough laws, by contrast, may make little difference even if judges do not eviscerate them, as they may well do. Some asylum-seekers are drawn to Britain because they have relatives there, a pull that no law can change. That includes almost all those who camp in northern France before trying to make it to Britain, says Frances Timberlake of Refugee Rights Europe, a charity.
Tim Hatton of the University of Essex has studied why asylum-seekers choose the countries they do. Distance matters—the longer the journey, the fewer will make it. Policing borders more stringently or refusing to issue visas also reduces asylum claims. People are drawn to countries where many fellow-countrymen live. By contrast, attempts to immiserate asylum-seekers by detaining them, cutting their tiny stipends or restricting their ability to work have no effect.
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