As we watched a border patrol vessel make its way into Dover port, it was difficult to know from across the waves how many, if any, migrants were on board.
Hidden below deck and inside that boat, however, were at least 60 people who had been rescued from the sea.
Among them was a tiny baby wrapped up in blankets in its mother’s arms.
Another man held his toddler close.
It’s difficult to imagine what has driven them to make this dangerous journey, in often unseaworthy and packed boats, to reach UK shores.
And they’re not alone: today, Home Office figures confirmed more migrants have crossed the channel in small boats so far this year than in all of 2023.
In Dover town centre there is sympathy for the arrivals, but an almost resigned acceptance that no policy will seemingly ever deter people from risking their lives in this way.
A husband and wife out shopping stopped and chatted, eager to speak.
“It must be costing the country millions,” the woman said.
Her husband added: “They’ve got to go somewhere, though.”
His wife then agreed: “We can’t stop them… it’s all over, not just here in the UK, but Italy and Greece”.
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Migrants arrive in Dover
Another two men sipping coffee further down the high street described it as “a massive immigration issue”.
One suggested a stronger “collaboration with France”.
“It’s not just about stopping illegal immigration, it’s actually saving people’s lives”, he added.
Another shopper said that migrants “will make that journey whatever,” and described Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation plan “an expensive farce”.
There was little expectation of preventing small boat crossings, or reducing them, here.
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Kay Marsh, from Dover migrant charity Samphire
Even Kay Marsh, from Dover migrant charity Samphire, insisted “it’s just going to keep getting worse”.
She wants to hear less talk about deterrents and more on advocating for “safe and legal routes”.
Her conclusion is this: giving people “an alternative to small boats is the only way we are going to stop them”.