As a self-taught forensic psychoanalyst and advocate, I approach complex social issues like migration with a commitment to evidence-based profiling and lived expertise in mental health and forensic psychology. Drawing from a decade of self-taught specialisation in profiling, I examine narratives of “invasion” surrounding asylum seekers in the UK. The topic of immigration is a sensitive and often controversial one, especially in England. This essay interrogates whether irregular arrivals constitute an organised incursion, focusing on Channel crossings via boats and dinghies, alleged links to grooming gangs, and polemics over luxury hotel accommodations. Through rigorous analysis, I aim to dismantle sensationalist rhetoric and highlight systemic policy failures, advocating for objective, data-driven responses.
The notion of asylum seekers invading the UK evokes militaristic imagery, often amplified in political discourse by the prospect of migration posing a national security threat. This rhetoric surged post-Brexit, with terms like “invasion” used by figures such as former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to describe small boat arrivals (The Guardian, 2025a). Forensic profiling reveals this as hyperbolic framing rather than empirical reality. Nevertheless, it goes without saying: Many Britons feel threatened under a perceived unpredictability, a sense of impending danger rapidly growing en masse. They feel they cannot be themselves in their own land, and this triggers fears of being ambushed.
Under international law, including the 1951 Refugee Convention, seeking asylum is a legal right, not an illegal act; the illegality lies in irregular entry methods, not the claim itself (Refugee Council, n.d.). And the horror lies in the routinary exploitation of a hospitable jurisdiction, carried out by those who arrive by unauthorised means, and with nefarious intentions. As time passes, their sense of entitlement grows, and criminal records soar.
Read more…: Are Asylum Seekers Invading the UK? A Forensic Analysis of Migration NarrativesSubscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today.
References
BBC (2025a) How many people cross the Channel in small boats? Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8xgkx20dyvo (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
BBC (2025b) Key takeaways from grooming gangs report. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2r2ejlvm1o (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
BBC (2025c) ‘People are angry’: Behind the wave of asylum hotel protests. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gerg74y71o (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
BBC (2025d) locals want asylum hotels shut, but are shared houses the answer? Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c07vn1y2jz2o (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
CNN (2025) How British hotels became a flashpoint for a furious immigration debate. Available at: https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/22/uk/british-hotels-asylum-seekers-immigration-epping-latam-intl (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
Durham University (2025) How the UK became dependent on asylum hotels. Available at: https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/current/thought-leadership/2025/07/how-the-uk-became-dependent-on-asylum-hotels/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
GOV.UK (2025a) Small boat arrivals: last 7 days. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats-last-7-days (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
GOV.UK (2025b) How many people claim asylum in the UK? Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-june-2025/how-many-people-claim-asylum-in-the-uk (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
GOV.UK (2025c) Baroness Casey’s audit of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/baroness-caseys-audit-of-group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
Home Office Media Blog (2025) Latest statement in response to small boat crossings. Available at: https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2025/09/07/latest-statement-in-response-to-small-boat-crossings/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
House of Commons Library (2025) Asylum statistics. Available at: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01403/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
ITV News (2025) ‘A system meltdown’: Why the use of asylum hotels is rising. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rstr6-5VuX4 (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
Migration Observatory (2025a) Asylum and refugee resettlement in the UK. Available at: https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/migration-to-the-uk-asylum/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
Migration Observatory (2025b) People crossing the English Channel in small boats. Available at: https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/people-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
Migration Observatory (2025c) [PDF] BRIEFING – People crossing the English Channel in small boats. Available at: https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2025-Briefing-People-crossing-the-English-Channel-in-small-boats.pdf (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
Migration Observatory (2025d) Asylum accommodation in the UK. Available at: https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/asylum-accommodation-in-the-uk/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
Migration Watch UK (2025) Channel Crossing Tracker. Available at: https://www.migrationwatchuk.org/channel-crossings-tracker (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
PBS (2025) Asylum-seekers can remain in UK hotel after government wins appeal. Available at: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/asylum-seekers-can-remain-in-uk-hotel-after-government-wins-appeal-to-keep-it-open (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
Politico (2025) ‘Damning’ UK child grooming report finds authorities feared being called racist. Available at: https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-child-grooming-racist-report-house-of-commons-elon-musk/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
Refugee Council (n.d.) The truth about asylum. Available at: https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/stay-informed/explainers/the-truth-about-asylum/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
Refugee Council (2025) Top facts from the latest statistics on refugees and people seeking asylum. Available at: https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/stay-informed/explainers/top-facts-from-the-latest-statistics-on-refugees-and-people-seeking-asylum/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
Reuters (2025) UK wins court ruling to keep asylum seekers in hotel but risks angry response. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-wins-court-ruling-keep-asylum-seekers-hotel-risks-angry-response-2025-08-29/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
Sky News (2025) Asylum seekers come face-to-face with migrant hotel critics. Available at: https://news.sky.com/story/what-did-we-do-wrong-asylum-seekers-come-face-to-face-with-migrant-hotel-critics-13428610 (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
Telegraph (2025) Asylum seekers behind new grooming gang cases. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/06/16/asylum-seekers-behind-new-grooming-gang-cases/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
The Guardian (2025a) The Guardian view on asylum myths: when truth loses, scapegoating takes over. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/05/the-guardian-view-on-asylum-myths-when-truth-loses-scapegoating-takes-over-britains-migrant-debate (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
The Guardian (2025b) Channel crossings in 2025 pass 25,000 – faster than any year since records began. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jul/31/channel-crossings-25000-faster-year-record-asylum-seekers-migrants (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
The Guardian (2025c) Police to collect ethnicity data for all cases of child sexual abuse. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jun/16/police-ethnicity-nationality-data-grooming-gangs (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
The Sun (2025) Long-awaited Casey grooming gang review links illegal migration with exploitation of British girls. Available at: https://www.the-sun.com/news/14474393/casey-review-links-grooming-gangs-to-illegal-migration/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
The Times (2025) Asylum seekers who commit child sex crimes ‘a border security issue’. Available at: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/asylum-seekers-child-sex-offences-swd90xmqx (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
UK Parliament (2025) [PDF] Asylum statistics. Available at: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01403/SN01403.pdf (Accessed: 17 September 2025).





