The United Kingdom has agreed to finance 200 French officers tasked with detaining and deporting asylum seekers attempting to cross the English Channel by small boats under a new bilateral agreement aimed at curbing irregular migration. The announcement was made during a ceremony in Dunkirk, where UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman and French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez signed the deal.

This arrangement marks the first instance in which the French government has officially targeted asylum seekers attempting to reach the UK via small boat crossings. A newly established removal center in Dunkirk will serve as the holding site for individuals from ten countries identified by the UK Home Office as the top nationalities crossing the Channel last year: Eritrea, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Syria, Vietnam, and Yemen.

Under the terms of the agreement, UK funding will support French officers responsible for detaining migrants at the site, which has a capacity of 140 detainees and is expected to become operational by the end of 2026. Before the new facility opens, the approach will be trialed at a nearby removal center in Coquelles. The initiative is part of an additional £162 million package designed to explore new methods of preventing small boat crossings, supplementing an existing three-year baseline agreement worth £500 million that runs through March 2029.

Authorities explained that detainees would either be deported to their home countries or to other European Union member states they had entered previously, in accordance with EU protocols such as the Dublin Regulation. The UK government emphasized that deportations to home countries would only occur if those nations have been assessed as safe. Detainees unable to return home may be sent to third EU countries where asylum claims have been processed.

Braverman defended the measure, citing the EU’s recent “New Pact on Migration and Asylum,” which allows member states to return migrants to safe countries within Europe that they transited through. She described the migrant crossings as a shared challenge requiring joint responses and dismissed calls from some UK politicians opposing the financial arrangements as unrealistic.

The plan includes the deployment of a 50-member French riot squad trained in crowd control to manage potential hostile situations at the removal sites. UK funds will also cover equipment such as batons, shields, and teargas to assist French authorities in handling violent incidents.

However, the approach has faced criticism from human rights advocates. Jo Cobley, chief executive of Safe Passage International, condemned the policy as unlawful and unethical, highlighting the risks of deporting individuals back to countries experiencing active conflict or persecution. Sile Reynolds of Freedom from Torture also raised concerns about the impact of detention on survivors of torture and trauma, warning of profound psychological harm even from brief periods of confinement.

The new agreement follows the expiration of a previous £478 million, three-year deal on March 31, which had governed efforts to combat unauthorized small boat crossings. The UK and France have engaged in extended negotiations over cost-sharing and enforcement responsibilities prior to finalizing the current arrangement.