The i Paper examines potential issues with the one-in-one-out scheme, which the Government hopes will deter migrants from making the treacherous journey across the English Channel
More than 5,500 asylum seekers have made the treacherous journey across the English Channel since Keir Starmer first announced his deal to return those arriving by small boats, new figures show.
Through the one-in-one-out scheme, the UK can detain some of those who cross and send them back to France, in return taking an asylum seeker in France who can demonstrate they have a strong case for seeking asylum in Britain.
The deal is intended to deter people from making the decision to come to the UK in a small boat.
Migrants must be present in the UK in order to claim asylum, which has prompted many to rely on smugglers to transport them across the Channel.
Official in Calais have said claims are being rejected. If claims are denied, migrants are not allowed to re-apply, meaning many still believe their best option of being granted asylum is to arrive in the UK first and then proceed with their claim.
Migrants picked up at sea attempting to cross the English Channel from France disembark a Border Force vessel arriving at the Marina in Dover, south-east England, on 19 September 2025. (Photo: HENRY NICHOLLS/Getty Images)Channel crossings this year
The latest figures from the Home Office show that 32,103 people have made the journey across the Channel so far this year.
On Friday (19 September), 1,072 people in 13 boats completed the crossing, an average of 82 people per boat.
Three people have so far been taken back to France under the deal.
On Thursday, the first migrant boarded a flight for Paris, and later that day, the High Court ruled that an Eritrean man would also be returned to France, despite his lawyers trying to block the move.
Justice Sheldon said there was no legal justification to delay his transport to Paris.
The pitfalls of the scheme
The scheme means that for every migrant returned to France, the UK must accept one through safe, legal and managed routes.
Discussing the deal, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “This is an important first step to securing our borders.
“It sends a message to people crossing in small boats: if you enter the UK illegally, we will seek to remove you.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood (Photo: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)
But those hoping to seek asylum in the UK told ITV on Friday that they would still be willing to be transported by smugglers, because they were not aware of anyone of being granted asylum in the UK through these methods.
If migrant’s claims are rejected, they have no opportunity to challenge the decision – which may mean they will still try and enter the country illegally.
Many would rather take the risk and put their lives in the hands of smugglers, because their chance of success is greater if they apply once already in the UK.
Traffickers hold migrants back as they wade into the water to get to a ‘taxi boat’ to take them across the Channel to the UK at dawn on 19 September 2025 in Gravelines, France. (Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Asylum backlogs
The main problem facing the UK’s asylum system is the wait time for claims to be processed – something which the deal does nothing to address.
When Labour came into power, they inherited policies set up by Conservative government, including pausing asylum seeker’s claims.
There are currently 90,000 people, including children, who are stuck in the asylum backlog.
They include 28,000 who have been waiting for more than a year for the Home Office to make a decision.
Whilst they wait for their claim to be accepted or denied, the Home Office has a legal obligation to support asylum seekers.
This had led to thousands being housed in hotels across the country — with some being housed in them for up to three years.
Because asylum seekers are waiting for so long, the Government is spending millions of pounds paying private contractors to house, feed, and transport them.
Some have argued, that the only way to tackle the migrant crisis is to speed up the decision process.
The Liberal Democrats have today called for the government to set up emergency “Nightingale processing centres” to help clear the asylum backlog.
Lisa Smart, the party’s home affairs spokeswoman, said that, if the Lib Dems were in power, they would increase the number of case workers processing asylum applications.