France must shoulder some responsibility for the crisis at its borders
SIR – The recently renewed French demands to move immigration controls to Britain should be resisted. If the French persist they should be told that all controls will take place before new arrivals can disembark. Any failed entrants would be returned to France, and the carriers (whether by air, land or sea) should be heavily fined for every person refused entry.
It has been said that the situation is not the fault of the French. In fact it is. The relevant immigrants are in France. They entered France as immigrants at some place and time, crossing the French border. It is for the French authorities to take responsibility for policing the French border. John Pattinson London SW6
SIR – It is iniquitous for Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president of France, to state that “the Jungle should not be in Calais. It is perfectly normal for us to control our borders” (report, August 29).
It is partially because France has not controlled its borders since the Schengen Agreement granted free movement into France from the rest of Europe that the problems in Calais have arisen. Elizabeth Edmunds Hassocks, West Sussex
SIR – Under international law and the Dublin Convention, those applying for asylum should do so in the first safe country that they enter.
Where it is evident that someone has managed to evade security in France and enter Britain illegally, that person should be returned for their asylum claims to be dealt with there – just as the French have done on the Italian border. Peter Higgins West Wickham, Kent
SIR – Those camping out at Calais have already travelled through several safe countries in order to arrive at the current destination.
If they are trying to pick and choose where they want to live, then they are
SIR – When I travelled to the US recently, I was required at Heathrow to provide proof that I had US entry approval – my Esta documentation – and I had to show my return ticket.
Without those the airline did not dare to carry me because, had I been rejected at American immigration, it would have been responsible for bringing me back.
I do not understand why ferry companies’ check-in processes should not operate in the same way. This could mean that non-British passport holders would have to give notice of their intention to travel in advance – again, compare how the American system treats non-American passport holders entering the country – but in the circumstances this does not seem an unreasonable imposition. Alan Hetherington Stillington, York