UK minister under fire for calling migrants an ‘invasion’

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s interior minister is facing criticism for describing migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats as an “invasion.” Home Secretary Suella Braverman used the term while defending conditions at a processing center for new arrivals where some 4,000 people were held in a facility intended for 1,600. Braverman referred to small-boat Channel crossings as “the invasion of our southern coast” and said “illegal immigration is out of control.” Her deputy, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, distanced himself from her words on Tuesday. He said “I would never demonize people coming to this country in pursuit of a better life.” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain “would always be a compassionate, welcoming country.”