“I must have a strange way of thinking. When I first read reports about these two the first thought that came to mind was the Freedom Trains/Underground Railways that helped slaves in the USA move north to freedom. I'd guess the operators of that would have been vilified and maybe imprisoned, too.”
Yes you do have a strange way of thinking, Sandy. Very strange, in fact.
To somehow compare those living in Albania with those enslaved in the USA does not demonstrate strange thinking. I t demonstrates no thinking at all. As I have explained, those in Albania are free to move to most of Europe. All they need is a passport and they can gain a foothold in any Schengen nation (next door Greece may be a good start). Then they can travel to any of the other 25 Schengen countries without even having to wave a passport. This scarcely fits the bill of enslavement. Furthermore, anybody who has £6k to spare for a twenty-five mile sea crossing could not have been enslaved too much in the recent past.
No, Albanians want to come to the UK because elsewhere in the EU does not suit them for various reasons. The UK should resist this and return them either to France or Albania, whichever is easiest and cheapest. And quite honestly, Sandy, you need to reconsider your thought processes.