Deportation orders must be policed

THE GARDA operation mounted against illegal refugees and asylum seekers in Dublin yesterday, which will expand nationwide, may well be perceived as the new regime in a Department of Justice wishing to make its mark.

Be that as it may, there must be control by the State over the processing of applicants and more especially in the case of those who fail to meet the appropriate conditions that would allow them stay legitimately in this country.

Critics of the system may well point to its shortcomings. It is not good enough, for instance, that some asylum seekers have been waiting since 1997 to have their cases adjudicated.