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The government is trying to come up with a plan to deal with the issue of migrants trying to cross the Channel in small boats.

Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, who's in charge of the UK borders, says he's "deeply concerned" about what's happened. He has called off a family holiday over Christmas to come back to work on this issue.

The UK has agreed a new plan with France to increase patrols by boats, to try and stop organised people-smuggling gangs and to raise awareness among migrants of the dangers of crossing what is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world.

It's also announced that it will bring two specialist search-and-rescue boats back from the Mediterranean Sea where they have been helping to monitor migrant crossings.

The government and the home secretary have been criticised for not doing enough to tackle the situation but Sajid Javid says says there are "no easy answers" to the problem.

He says the reasons people are trying to cross include conflict in the Middle East, criminal gangs and more security in France which is stopping people being able to hide on lorries before they come to the UK.

What is happening and why?

Since November, more than 200 people have attempted to cross the Channel in small boats, including at least four children.

Compared to the number of refugees seeking asylum in the UK every year, the number who have attempted to cross the channel is very small. In 2017, 26,350 people applied for asylum, an average of about 2,200 a month.

But these crossings have been getting a lot of attention.

As the weather has been quite mild and the sea quite calm, experts says more people are taking the chance to sail.

So far there have been no accidents and no-one has died but the UK police force has said that because the English Channel is is so busy, it's a really dangerous journey - they compare it to crossing a busy motorway on foot.

Where are the migrants coming from?

So far most of the migrants who've been found say they're from Iran, though authorities and refugee charities aren't sure about this.

They're sailing to the UK from northern France in dinghies and small boats which experts say aren't suitable for the crossing and the water is very cold.

This is a change, as in recent years people have tried to get into the UK by hiding in lorries that cross the channel in ferries or through the Channel Tunnel.

Some refugee organisations have said that if these migrants are Iranians, then they could have more money, which is perhaps how they can afford to pay smugglers to take them across the Channel in boats.

Iran isn't as poor as other middle eastern countries and isn't involved in a war like Syria or Yemen.

But the Iran government is facing sanctions from America over its plans to develop nuclear power, and people living there also face quite a lot of restrictions depending on their religion, political views or sexuality.

In the past two years, Iranian citizens have made more UK asylum applications than any other nationality, according to the Government.