The United Kingdom and France signed an agreement on November 28 to end illegal migration across the English Channel.
British Home Secretary Priti Patel said that as of Dec. 1, the number of patrols on the French coast will be doubled and technology such as drones and radar will be used to detect possible migrant crossings.
Patel said the agreement will help make crossing the strait between the two countries completely unworkable.
Patel said the U.K. has provided nearly $200 million to France over the past 10 years to address the immigration problem.
Between January 1 and August of this year, more than 6,000 people attempted to cross the Straits.
French authorities have also said that they intercepted more than 1,300 people trying to get to the U.K. in September alone.
So far this year, seven people have been killed trying to cross the Straits to Britain, compared to last year’s record of four.
Patel said in a statement that the agreement represents a step forward in efforts by the U.K. and France to agree that crossing the English Channel is not feasible.
She said, “We have already seen a decrease in the number of migrants departing from the French coast due to more police patrols on the French coast and increased intelligence sharing between our two security and law enforcement agencies.”
She added that Britain and France plan to continue their close dialogue next year to reduce migratory pressure at their common border.
She said authorities focused on stopping small boats a while ago, which means more migrants are now trying to cross the channel by truck, and France is tightening border security to stop that from happening.
Patel said the U.K. is planning to go through the legislative process next year to propose a new asylum system.
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