Five migrants die attempting to cross into U.K. shortly after country passes deportation bill

A woman, three men and a 7-year-old girl died attempting to cross the English Channel from France to the U.K., according to French authorities on Tuesday.

Their deaths occurred off the coast of Pas-de-Calais shortly after the U.K. government approved a migrant bill that would allow some of those who came to the country illegally to be deported of to Rwanda.

According to the Associated Press, the U.K. government "plans to deport some of those who enter the country illegally as a deterrent to migrants who risk their lives in leaky, inflatable boats in hopes that they will be able to claim asylum once they reach Britain."

The 30,000 crossings that occurred in 2023 were 36% "fewer than the more than 45,000 in 2022" but that the 2023 total was the second-highest since 2018, according to a previous report.