According to UK Home Office data, in the first half of 2022, "more than half of all small boat modern slavery referrals came from Albania." The figures were published by the think tank Migration Watch on Friday.
British PM Rishi Sunak has announced an agreement with Albania to fight irregular migration to the United Kingdom, pledging to expel 'thousands' of Albanians. Human rights organizations have criticized the deal.
At least 39 Albanian child migrants have left the care of the UK authorities and gone missing in the period between January 1 and October 31 this year, according to the Kent County Council in England.
The European Commission has proposed a new aid package worth over €39 million to increase border controls and 'migration management.' They also want to send Frontex officials to non-EU borders in the Balkans.
Many Afghans are still stuck in Albania after fleeing the Taliban even though other countries like the US and Canada originally promised to take them in. Here DW listens to the story of Jamshid Akbari and how he is quickly losing hope that he will travel onwards.
Police in Britain have arrested an Albanian woman who is suspected of helping migrants to cross the English Channel by irregular routes. The UK is doubling down on its fight against illegal entries into the country.
More than 1,000 people on board 25 small boats were detected in the English Channel by UK authorities on Sunday. 367 others were rescued from the Strait of Pas-de-Calais and returned to France.
The number of deportation orders issued in the European Union is on the rise, according to Eurostat figures. Almost 100,000 people were ordered out of the 27-member bloc in the second quarter of 2022.
The UK government has announced that a deal to deport Albanians crossing the Channel will not result in a fast-tracking of Albanian asylum seekers back to their country of origin. The deal had been agreed on in August under the former Home Secretary Priti Patel.
The UK Home Office has enlisted two private companies to help pick up migrants in the English Channel. While one company appears to be a small enterprise, the other one is part of a large investment and consultancy firm based in the US.
The UK is continuing on its course of clamping down on immigration, announcing that it will be working more closely with Albanian authorities to this end. Many of the migrants who reach Britain by boat come from the small Balkan nation.
Nine months after they were evacuated from Kabul to Albania, a group of Afghan refugees this week protested against the long wait for their visas to the US. They were among some 2,400 evacuees Albania took in following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. According to media reports, some of the 900 Afghans who remain in Albania could be evicted from the hotels where they are staying.