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Home Secretary Suella Braverman wants wider use of laws that allow jail terms of up to four years for anyone convicted of entering this country without permission, sources said.
Officials have told the Home Secretary that the figure may reach 'worst case scenario' and demonstrates why ministers are looking at 'outsourcing' the asylum process to other countries.
Ministers are said to be drawing up proposals which would see people arriving illegally in the UK sent abroad for processing and resettlement.
Government sources pledged the move would result in 'demonstrable change' in the Channel crisis, which last year saw a record 28,300 migrants reach the UK from northern France.