The tragedy of the 39 dead Vietnamese illegal migrants who were found in a lorry in Essex, highlights a particular problem with Britain’s porous borders. That problem is that because this country’s border is porous and can be crossed illegally, it tells those wishing to enter the UK illegally that there is a chance that they will be able to get in. This then encourages people to put themselves in the hands of people traffickers who often exploit the migrants or put them in the sort of dangers that led to the 39 deaths in Essex.
It must look to some people that the crossing the border illegally gamble may have odds that look good to them. This is especially the case when the rewards for crossing the border, tax free, cash in hand work, are so disproportionally great. The fact that there is a chance, even a small chance, of entering the UK via an illegal route and disappearing into the black economy is a motivation for migrants to chance their arm.
This is why I say that ‘loose borders cost lives’. The odds of getting in and not getting caught look attractive to those from places like Vietnam where the relatively meagre earnings that a nail technician or a worker in a cannabis farming operation can achieve, have far greater purchasing power in the migrant’s country of origin.
If Britain’s borders were more secure and it was much more certain that illegals would be caught and swiftly sent back, then the gamble on getting into Britain illegally would not look so good. After all, it is not good value for a farmer to mortgage his land in order to send a son or daughter via a people trafficker to the UK if there’s a very good chance that they will be bounced back.
More vigourous border control, of the sort that is decried by the Left and which would reduce the chances of illegal migrants entering the UK, would discourage people from putting themselves in the hands of people traffickers and, possibly, saving their life. It’s to nobodies benefit that our borders are leaky. It’s not good for the people of Britain who have to share space with those whom nothing is known about and who may be hostile and it is certainly not good for the illegal migrant who may end up either being exploited or worse, dead.
