Strict asylum rules and poor treatment of migrants are pushing people north to the UK

By RENATA BRITO
Associated Press

AMBLETEUSE, France (AP) — Strict asylum rules and the hostile treatment of migrants are pushing people from the Middle East, Africa and Asia out of Europe and toward the United Kingdom. The U.K. government has been hostile toward migrants, but many have family or friends there, and a perception they will have more opportunities in Great Britain. One morning last month, the rising tide crept around a group of Kurdish migrants, soaking the babies they hugged tight. Around a dozen people refused to leave the cold waters of the English Channel in a futile attempt to delay the inevitable: French police had just foiled their latest attempt to reach the United Kingdom by boat.