Britain And Turkey Agree On Cooperation In Handling Illegal Immigrants

Illustration of illegal immigrants. (Wikimedia Commons/US Coast Guard District 7/Ricardo Castrodad)

JAKARTA - Britain announced it had reached an agreement with Turkey to slow the flow of illegal immigrants passing through the Mediterranean country on their way to Europe, including joint police operations against a network of smugglers and ship parts trading.

With the issue of illegal migration that is the main political agenda in the UK ahead of next year's general election, London will support a new Turkish police operational center, which will build existing cooperation in terms of law enforcement.

Customs data will be exchanged more quickly under a new memorandum of understanding, the UK Government said in a statement.

"Our partnership with Turkey, close friends and allies will allow our law enforcement agencies to work together on this international issue and address the supply chain of small vessels," said Interior Minister Suella Braverman.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made the reduction in the number of illegal migrants arriving in the UK a key promise for this year, as he tried to narrow the Labor Party's major advantages in opinion polls.

This week, Britain began moving several migrants to a large residential barge on the south coast, part of a plan to remove what the government calls a hotel "darining" for those arriving on the country's coast by small boats.

While citing Daily Sabah, the new operational center will strengthen cooperation between the National Crime Agency and the Turkey-based Central Office Intelligence staff and their colleagues in the country.

The strengthened collaboration between Britain and Turkey will be the center of discussion at the upcoming UK-Turkey Migration Dialogue meeting, which is scheduled to be held next fall in London.

Located between Asia and Europe, thousands of people arrive in Turkey to stay illegally or cross into Europe secretly every year.

Along the southeast border, Turkey has implemented a series of measures, including anti-smuggling operations, more patrols and border walls that are still under construction, to stem irregular migration and report tangible results.

Last year, a total of 124,441 illegal migrants were deported, the Ministry of Home Affairs said. Data shared by the ministry reveals that this is the highest number of deportations in Turkish history, up about 161 percent compared to 2021.

Although, since January 2023, there has been a significant decline in the number of illegal migrants at the border, analysts say.