Ireland Plans to Send Migrants Back to the UK

Overview

• Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee will discuss migration with UK Home Secretary James Cleverly on Monday.
• Ireland is planning to send asylum seekers back to the U.K. under emergency legislation, in an effort to curb irregular arrivals through Northern Ireland.

Key Points

• “I’ll have emergency legislation at Cabinet this week to make sure that we can effectively return people to the U.K.,” Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee told public broadcaster RTÉ on Sunday.
• The justice minister has been tasked to “bring proposals to Cabinet next week to amend existing law regarding the designation of safe ‘third countries’ and allowing the return of inadmissible International Protection applicants to the U.K.”
• British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed that the rising numbers of people seeking asylum in Ireland was proof that the Conservatives’ plan to deport people to Rwanda has worked as a “deterrent … because people are worried about coming here.”
• A key condition of the Brexit deal that took the U.K. out of the EU was to maintain the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland open, with no immigration checks.
• Speaking at a parliamentary hearing earlier this week, McEntee said that more than 80 percent of asylum seekers coming to Ireland arrived from Northern Ireland.

Conclusion

Ireland is taking action to address the rising number of asylum seekers arriving through Northern Ireland by planning to send them back to the U.K. under emergency legislation. The move comes as the Irish Justice Minister prepares to discuss migration with her British counterpart.

Ireland’s Asylum Process Explained

What is an Asylum Seeker?

• An asylum seeker is someone who has left their home country and is seeking protection in another country.
• In Ireland, asylum seekers have the right to stay in the country while their application is being processed.

Refugee Status

• If an asylum seeker is granted refugee status, it means they are no longer considered an asylum seeker.
• Refugees are allowed to stay in Ireland under the country’s protection.

Deportation

• Asylum seekers who are not granted refugee status can be sent back to their home countries.

Family Reunification

• Refugees in Ireland can apply to bring their immediate family members to the country through a process called family reunification.

Ireland’s New Asylum Policy

• Ireland is planning to send asylum seekers who entered through Northern Ireland back to the UK under new emergency laws.
• The government wants to change existing laws to make it easier to return asylum seekers to countries considered safe, like the UK.
• Around 80% of asylum seekers in Ireland arrived from Northern Ireland.
• The UK’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda has been cited as a reason for the increase in applications to Ireland.

Despite these new measures, Ireland continues to process asylum claims and provide protection to those granted refugee status. The country has welcomed over 100,000 refugees, with around three-quarters coming from Ukraine.