Crackdown on migrants who pose as children
The farce of adult migrants posing as children is apparently going to be tackled in a crackdown by Priti Patel.
It comes after a series of high-profile cases of phonies – including a balding man who appeared to be in his 40s – ending up in school because they said they were minors.
One adult asylum seeker spent six weeks in a Year 11 class before a Home Office investigation revealed he was years older.
A team of social workers will help local authorities nationwide assess new asylum claims, including those by people who arrive on small boats across the Channel.
It comes amid soaring numbers of arrivals from northern France, with 1,000 so far this month alone.
So far this year the total is just under 4,900, compared with a record 8,410 in the whole of last year.
Migrants who say they are under 18 obtain preferential treatment.
Weeding out false cases could make it more likely that ineligible migrants can be deported, potentially saving the taxpayer millions a year.
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