by A.P.
Over 8,000 illegal boat migrants have landed on British shores since the start of the year, as another 60 migrants were brought ashore at the Port of Dover on Monday.
As the recent spate of cold and windy weather eased, small rubber boats full of illegal migrants began to cross the English Channel from France in the early hours of the morning.
The government’s official tally for illegal boat migrants stands at 8,143, but this does not include the estimated 60 migrants who arrived on Monday, according to the Daily Mail.
The true number is likely to be much higher, however, as the government does not include alleged child migrants or those who skirt detection in the official tally.
The estimated 8,200 illegal crossings of the Channel far outpace the initial projections from the London-based pressure group Migration Watch UK, which predicted that between 7,500 and 7,600 migrants would reach the country by Christmas, based off of arrival trends at the time.