© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Home Secretary Suella Braverman walks in Downing Street on the day of a cabinet meeting in London, Britain, September 5, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File photo
LONDON (Reuters) – British Home Secretary Suella Braverman will address “unsustainable pressures” caused by illegal migration during her three-day visit to the United States this week, her office said on Sunday.
In a keynote speech, Braverman will set out a blueprint for how countries can tackle the crisis and highlight how the UK has led the way in developing “innovative approaches” to tackle the problem, the Home Office said.
“Illegal migration and the unprecedented mass movement of people around the world are putting unsustainable pressure on America, Britain and Europe,” Braverman said in the statement.
“We must come together and ask whether the international conventions and legal frameworks designed over 50 years ago are fit for purpose in the age of jet travel and smartphones.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who took office last year, has made “stopping the boats” – the arrival of migrants in small boats across the English Channel – a priority.
However, the British government’s measures, such as sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, have so far not been successful. According to official data, almost 45,000 people were spotted arriving in small boats in the 12 months to June, a 26% increase from a year earlier.
The Biden government is also struggling with high migration numbers: in the first half of September, US authorities encountered over 142,000 migrants at the US-Mexico border.
Braverman, who will travel to Washington on Monday, will seek closer cooperation with the US to combat illegal migration and organized immigration crime. She will hold talks with lawmakers and senior US officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the statement added.
“I am going to Washington to discuss this (illegal migration) crisis with our American colleagues. If we do not address these challenges, our political institutions risk losing their democratic legitimacy,” Braverman said.
Source : www.investing.com