“Talk, talk, talk yet people continue to arrive by illegal means”

The means by which a migrant arrives is not subject to judgment over legality. It is not ‘illegal’ to arrive by small boat any more than arriving on a ferry or in an aircraft. The issue of ‘legality’ revolves around the person’s right to come here, and on them having declared their arrival to the UK Immigration authorities, not the means by which they arrive.

I detest the term ‘illegal immigrants’. It’s a meaningless dog-whistle term used by racists and Right-Wing media quite deliberately, with the intention to turn public opinion against a group of largely desperate and endangered people fleeing the danger of violence or death.

I would propose ‘Irregular migration’ as a more accurate, considerably less inflammatory, term.