All of those migrants swarming into the country illegally from the south are obviously causing huge problems and chaotic conditions. If you thought I was talking about America’s border with Mexico, you are to be forgiven because the Biden border crisis is clearly a disaster on steroids at this point. But today, we’re actually looking at conditions in the United Kingdom. They are experiencing their own “surge” of migrants crossing the English Channel in dinghies and makeshift rafts and the Brits are having a hard time figuring out what to do with them all. One detention center that was established at an abandoned airport has been drawing the attention of the media and the conditions that the migrants are living in there are being described as “grim.” (Associated Press)

Behind wire fences in southeast England, children wave their arms and chant “freedom” to grab the attention of people on the other side. A young girl throws a bottle with a message inside. “We need your help. Please help us,” the note reads.

The children are among thousands of people being held in dangerously overcrowded conditions at a closed airport serving as a processing center for migrants who recently arrived on British shores after crossing the English Channel in small boats. The situation there has reignited a heated debate about the Conservative U.K. government’s treatment of asylum-seekers.

Located at the site of a former British air force base that had a short life as the civilian Manston Airport, the center in Kent was designed as a short-term processing facility housing about 1,600 newcomers. Up to 4,000 were staying there at one point this week, with some reportedly detained unlawfully for a month or more.

In a mirror image of what we’ve been seeing in the United States for years, the press in Great Britain has been running photos of migrants who are fenced up at the airport, particularly children, and feeding public discontent over the situation. When the U.K. Home Secretary described the wave of migrants as “an invasion on our southern coast,” she was widely condemned.

The British government is talking about a record number of people crossing the channel and seeking asylum, primarily in England. They say that 40,000 migrants have crossed so far this year and a record number of people are currently awaiting a resolution of their asylum claims, approximately 100,000.

That would add up to a relatively slow month for the Texas border, but Great Britain’s situation is somewhat different than that of the United States. They have a total population of 67 million, with the majority (55 million) living in England. They have fewer resources available to deal with huge numbers of people suddenly showing up uninvited on their shores.

They’re also not used to having an illegal alien problem like the United States. After all, crossing the English Channel is a challenging proposition for most people without a suitable naval vessel. By comparison, the Rio Grande River is shallow enough to walk across in many places, particularly during the drought season. Sneaking through the “Chunnel” is no easy feat either. But now people are managing to make the journey in swelling numbers.

The acceleration of the rate of migrant crossings has been remarkable. In 2018, there were 299 migrants detected showing up on the shores of England without authorization. Last year, there were 28,536. Unlike in the United States, where the majority of migrants arrive from central and South America, Britain’s invasion is coming from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and Albania, among other nations.

What will be done with all of these people and whether or not the Brits will take stronger steps to secure their borders remains unknown. Much the same as in the United States, Britain’s liberal Labour Party is condemning any efforts to block or expel the illegal migrants as nationalist “hate,” while the conservative Tories are arguing for stronger border control. I would suggest that the United States offer them some advice, but we’re clearly not in any position to do so with the Biden administration in charge.