Send them back to Britain – TD

Fallout over asylum seekers coming across the border

Garda checks are being stepped up in Cavan and other border counties amid controversy sparked by the Tory Government’s migration policy. The political fallout in recent days has seen one local TD call for “routine checks” along the Border and for illegal migrants to be sent back to Britain.

Official figures show that over 6,700 people have applied for asylum in the Republic in the year to date, a significant spike on the same period last year. Of those a reported 80% are entering the state via the border with the North, however the Irish Refugee Council has cast doubt on the figure. Regardless, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said a very significant number of asylum seekers are crossing the border.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee received approval for her proposals to attempt to close, what the Taoiseach Simon Harris described at an event in County Monaghan over the weekend as “a loophole”.

The Meath politician is eager to draft laws to prevent people who are abusing the Common Travel Area between Ireland and the UK by crossing the border from Northern Ireland to seek asylum in the Republic.

That loophole had been flagged by Taoiseach Simon Harris during a visit to Monaghan to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Senator Billy Fox. The political furore intensified when British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak remarked that migrants rerouting towards Ireland showed the UK’s Rwanda scheme was working as a deterrent. Simply put, those whose applications for asylum are refused in the UK risk being deported to Rwanda.

“Every country is entitled to have its own migration policy, but I certainly don’t intend to allow anybody else’s migration policy to affect the integrity of our own one,” insisted the Taoiseach in Monaghan at the weekend. “This country will not in any way, shape or form provide a loophole for anybody else’s migration challenges. That’s very clear. Other countries can decide how they wish to advance migration.”

Last month Minister McEntee announced her department would take over the immigration-registration function from the gardaí, freeing up 100 additional members for frontline enforcement work, including with deportations.

Deputy Brendan Smith agrees that gardaí should be provided with the means to carry out “routine checks” along the border for those entering the State illegally. The Cavan Monaghan TD also said that illegal migrants entering the State via the UK “should be returned to Britain”.

“If people domiciled in Britain are illegally entering our State through Northern Ireland, they should be returned to Britain,” the Fianna Fáil Deputy insisted, adding the State is obliged to implement the law of the land, and it is up to Britain to deal with the issue.

“The length of time that it’s taking to process asylum applications needs to be streamlined and made more efficient and, while I don’t agree with permanent checks along the border, the gardaí could carry out routine checks,” he suggested.

“There are more than 200 crossings across the border so routine policing would deal with the matter. It’s important that the message gets out loud and clear: those entering the Irish State illegally, who travel from Britain through Northern Ireland, should be returned to Britain.”

Outrageous

Deputy Pauline Tully (SF), meanwhile, says that a border in the Irish sea needs to be established to check the movement of people entering the State. While branding the UK’s ‘Rwanda Policy’ as “outrageous”, she said that to not check migrants entering Ireland is “not good enough”.

“The country that migrants go to is the one where their applications should be processed; those people should not be moving on to other countries because they don’t want to go to Rwanda.

“The UK is colonial in nature and, as a result, has sewed division and bitterness for centuries. This is part of the reason why people are leaving their countries of origin; as are climate change, war and persecution.”

A senior Garda source told The Anglo-Celt that “regular and periodic checks” on migrants crossing over the border are being carried out. The source says there is no static policy and therefore, the free movement of people is allowed.

“Each case is dealt with on a individual basis and in compliance with our human rights obligations,” the source continued before adding that in recent months, there has been increased visibility by An Garda Siochána in conjunction with the PSNI in the border region of Louth, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim.

Case by case

Meanwhile, Maryam Temile of the Cavan Cross Cultural Community told the Celt that migrants arriving here illegally as a result of the UK's Rwanda policy should be sent back to the country of their arrival because “that is the right thing to do”.

"The first country of arrival is where you are processed so therefore in this case, that is the UK,” added Maryam, who is chair of the Nigeria Association of Cavan.

"A lot of people are coming from war and violence but everyone has their own individual reasons for fleeing their homeland and that of course does need to be factored in also. The circumstances of the individual should be considered.”