The number of people who arrived in small boats was 29% lower compared with last year. But there is still concern in many communities across the country.
This is as much about the perception of immigration as it is about the actual numbers.
Take Rotherham, for example. Recent analysis from the House of Commons library has shown that there were 22 asylum seekers per 10,000 people being supported in the town.
Yet, in the wake of the Southport killings last month, a protest outside a hotel housing migrants turned violent.
It is widely thought that the protest was hijacked by groups from outside the town, intent on causing trouble.
But I’ve been talking to people in Rotherham who say they still have concerns about asylum seekers in their area. In a park not far from the hotel which was attacked, I meet mother-of-four Shannon.
“I was not against the protests, but I was against how it escalated,” she tells me.
I asked how she feels about the figures suggesting that small boat crossings are decreasing.
“It’s reassuring that it’s slowing down. Here, it’s the men that concern me, not families with children. It’s the not knowing who they are, where they are from. They are intimidating and I worry.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Shannon admits it is the fear of the unknown that makes her anxious. And this could go some way to explain why so many communities have deep-rooted concerns about how asylum seekers are managed, processed and housed.
Somewhere between perception and reality, these concerns can germinate.
A few hundred miles away in Kent, Rishan tells me how she came to the UK illegally from war-torn Eritrea. She says she hid in the back of a lorry and managed to get into Britain.
Rishan is now training to be a nurse after leaving Eritrea
She waited years for her asylum application to be processed and was granted British citizenship last month. She is now training to be a nurse.
“We are part of the community, and we are contributing to society. A lot of young people like me want to do something. They want to get an education and they want to work and support their family. They want to support people around them. And that’s the thing that some people don’t understand.”
Read more:
Mike Lynch leaves ‘hole that can’t be filled’
Jermaine Jenas sacked by BBC
Andrew Tate under house arrest
Both Shannon and Rishan share something in common, they both want to contribute to society. Shannon is active in her community and raises money for disadvantaged children. Rishan wants to work in the NHS.
Shannon’s concerns about immigration are specific to the types of people she sees in her community, mainly men. And Rishan wants people to know that some migrants want to come to Britain for a new life.
These nuances are often lost in the broader immigration debate.
Take the latest poll on the subject. Ipsos reports that for the first time in eight years, immigration is now the most important issue for the country, above the economy and the NHS.
That means political pressure is increasing, even though boat crossings might be falling.
Source Agencies
