LONDON (CNN) -- Eighteen Albanian migrants rescued off Britain's southern coast over the weekend might have thought they were sailing to a new life of opportunity. Instead they have found themselves the latest political football in the contentious debate over whether the UK should leave the European Union.
Immigration has been a hot-button issue in discussions on the so-called Brexit, a term used to describe the June 23 referendum on whether Britain will exit the EU.
A sea and helicopter rescue was launched off the Kent coast to reach the migrants, traveling with two British nationals in a dinghy, the UK Home Office said. They were taken to Dover for questioning by border force officers.
The rescue has raised concerns the English Channel may become the new Mediterranean Sea, which has seen the biggest movement of asylum seekers into Europe since World War II. At least 1,475 migrants have died this year making the perilous journey in the Mediterranean in crowded boats, according to the International Organization for Migration.
A recent refugee-swap deal between the EU and Turkey has dramatically slowed the flow of boats crossing the Mediterranean, and now there's concern migrants will make longer overland journeys to France and cross the English Channel, a busy shipping route that poses serious risks to the small dinghies used by refugees. It is unclear how such a small boat made it so close to the British coast.
Politicians campaigning to leave the EU have been quick to renew their calls following the rescue.
In a tweet, the Vote Leave campaign quoted Home Secretary Theresa May as saying free movement in the EU "makes it harder to control immigration." As a member of the EU, Britain must welcome citizens of other member nations as residents and allow them to work in the country.
Another tweet cited Parliament member Iain Duncan-Smith, who says Britain is losing control of its borders.
Right-wing media also raised a red flag, with The Sun describing the English Channel as the "new front line" of the migrant crisis.
But the National Crime Agency told CNN that people crossing the channel is nothing new.
A representative said the Albanian case received more media attention because a rescue effort was involved, but it warned that people smugglers may be looking to Britain's smaller ports as entry points.
At a media briefing last month, the deputy director of border policing command for the agency said gangs are being paid as much as £12,000 ($17,500) to smuggle people into the UK on inflatable boats.
The agency could not confirm exact figures of migrants trying to cross the channel, but it said that rigid-hulled inflatable boats, known as RHIBs, have long been used to transport migrants across the narrow stretch of sea.
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