UK-France deal aimed at reducing number of migrants crossing Channel in small boats is scrapped

LONDON (AP) — A pilot program between the U.K. and France that aimed to curb migrant numbers crossing the English Channel in small boats has been scrapped, Britain’s government said Wednesday.

In a statement, the U.K.’s Home Office said the so-called “one in, one out” deal is “no longer processing new cases.”

Under the plan, people who arrived in the U.K. after making the dangerous crossing across the Channel could be detained and returned to France in exchange for an equivalent number of asylum seekers who applied through a safe and legal route.

As part of the deal, some 1,117 asylum seekers came to the U.K. from France from August 2025 to June 2026 while 1,087 were deported, according to Home Office data. The deal was earmarked to last for three years though there was a clause for both parties to bring it to an end earlier