As TDs raise concerns about undocumented Irish under Trump administration, undocumented migrants in Ireland ask for the same consideration.
Representatives from the Justice for the Undocumented (JFU) group and the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) will address the Justice Committee today (Wednesday 16 November).
Priya, JFU spokesperson, is undocumented and has lived and worked in Ireland for 8 years. She said “I am here on behalf of thousands of undocumented people in Ireland. We work hard, we contribute every day, we’re part of this country. We are the very same as the Irish undocumented in the United States, and we’re just asking for the same thing.”
MRCI’s Justice for the Undocumented group, which campaigns for the introduction of a regularisation scheme, is made up of over 1,500 undocumented migrants living in Ireland. Research carried out by the group revealed that 1 in 5 undocumented migrants have lived in Ireland for more than 10 years, 89% are employed and 1 in 3 have been in the same job for more than 5 years. The regularisation proposal is endorsed by employer groups, trade unions, political parties and rights organisations.
Edel McGinley, MRCI Director, said, “A straightforward, transparent scheme would give people the opportunity to come forward and apply to regularise their immigration status. The Irish government has supported similar proposals in the US over the years; continued inaction on the same issue here at home makes a mockery of their representations in the US.”
The scheme is also cost-effective: McGinley concluded, “A regularisation scheme would generate twelve times times more in immigration fees alone than it would cost to implement. This is a fair and pragmatic response to an urgent issue.”
ENDS
CONTACT communications@mrci.ie
NOTES Edel McGinley is available for interview. The Justice Committee session will begin at 9am on Wednesday.
For more information about the Justice for the Undocumented campaign, please see http://www.mrci.ie/our-work/justice-for-undocumented/
An undocumented Irish man in New York and an undocumented Filipina woman in Dublin share their stories: https://vimeo.com/149061123
