This is a preview of the Migration Watch weekly newsletter. You can read the full version here.
Please consider signing up to the newsletter directly, you can do so here and will receive an email copy of the newsletter every Friday as soon as it is released.
We have long been concerned that adult asylum seekers have been attempting to play the system by claiming to be minors, potentially putting at risk our children as well as migrant children among whom they are placed. Indeed, the Home Office admitted: ‘we have examples of adults freely entering the UK care and school system, being accommodated and educated with vulnerable children.’ With this in mind, we believed there was more to a story that emerged earlier this year about a large number of underage Channel migrants who had gone missing from their accommodation. The story was covered widely at the time. We decided to submit a Freedom of Information request on the matter.
After six months, the Home Office has responded to our request. Here is what we found out:
- Of 580 missing minors, almost a quarter (127) had had their age disputed by the authorities
- Seventy six went missing while their age disputes were still in progress
- Thirteen disappeared within a week of the outcome of their age dispute
The latest news we have heard is that 200 are still missing, of whom almost all were recorded as male Albanians aged sixteen or over. The Home Office have not made clear, but it is reasonable to assume that many (possibly most) of those claiming to be minors who absconded did so while their claimed age was being investigated.
A 2021 MW analysis found that two in three (66%) concluded disputes in the year to September 2021 revealed that the person was 18 or over (1,118 people). You can read the press release for our latest findings here.
This is a preview of the Migration Watch weekly newsletter. You can read the full version here.
Please consider signing up to the newsletter directly, you can do so here and will receive an email copy of the newsletter every Friday as soon as it is released.