SMALL boat crossings have topped 18,000 this year – after the UK saw the second busiest week of people making the dangerous journey.
The PM is under growing pressure to do more to deliver his promise to stop the boats – after another 1,909 people came this week alone.
It's the second highest week this year as the calm seas and warmer weather make it a target week to cross the dangerous stretch of water.
Yesterday the PM refused to say whether he would be able to deliver his promise to stop the boats before the next election.
A staggering 25,000 have made the journey since the PM got to No10 last November, despite passing new laws to make it easier to ban those who get here from being able to stay.
Hundreds are now making the perilous journey every single day.
Downing Street insisted that the numbers are down on last year, and their plans to stop them are working.
New deals to send back migrants to places like Albania are also starting to have a deterrent, they say.
The new small boats law means that anyone who comes here after March 7 does not have the right to settle in the UK ever.
But yesterday a damning report warned that the cost of housing migrants in hotels could top £5billion a year if the boats are not stopped.
Experts believe the backlog could become permanent with thousands of people needing long-term accommodation and support.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) warned the crisis will worsen by the next General Election, which must be held by January 2025.
The policy of flying asylum-seekers to Rwanda for processing is on hold awaiting a court ruling on whether it is legal.
Even if it goes ahead there are doubts over how many people can be flown over there.
Marley Morris, of the IPPR, said that “under most plausible scenarios, arrivals will still outpace removals” even if the policy is approved and the Illegal Migration Act fully implemented.
He added: “This will mean a growing population of people permanently in limbo, putting huge pressure on Home Office accommodation and support systems.
"Any incoming government would likely face a dire and increasingly costly challenge.”
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PM Rishi Sunak said small boat crossings were still down on last year. But he added: “We’ve got to put a stop to that.
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“It’s not an easy problem to fix. I never said we would be able to solve it overnight.
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