Irish Examiner View: An indirect assault on the NI protocol

Westminster's Nationality and Borders Bill could prevent Irish citizens who refuse to prove their nationality from entering Northern Ireland

It is not yet clear how a new system would be enforceable when it comes to people crossing the border from the Republic to Northern Ireland if latest UK bill is introduced into law.

Campaigners in Britain and opposition MPs have raised concerns over the impact of a proposed law being introduced by Boris Johnson’s government that would limit the rights of refugees and those seeking asylum in Britain.

If passed, it will also represent an indirect assault on the Northern Ireland protocol, as well as the Common Travel Area, an arrangement between Ireland and Britain that has been in operation since 1922 (and which the British have been determined to support throughout the Brexit debacle).

The Nationality and Borders Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday to cheers from Tory backbenchers. It now goes to the House of Lords.

Under the proposed new British immigration law, non-Irish EU citizens living in the Republic will have to apply online for Electronic Travel Authorisation before entering Britain, including when crossing into Northern Ireland.

How such a system would be enforceable when it comes to people crossing the border from the Republic to Northern Ireland is not clear. Would everyone going from south to north, including for work, be forced to reveal whether they are Irish citizens or not? If strictly enforced, it could prevent Irish citizens who refuse to prove their nationality — as is their right — from entering Northern Ireland, causing chaos and major disruption.

However, its wider implications are more concerning. The bill makes it much more difficult for refugees to seek asylum in Britain and makes it illegal for British subjects to help
migrants. It authorises border forces to turn back dinghies in the English Channel and proposes that those seeking asylum should be kept in off-shore processing centres.

Penalising refugees

The bill has been widely condemned by human rights advocates and agencies. According to the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, the bill would penalise most refugees seeking asylum in Britain, creating an asylum model that undermines established international refugee protection rules and practices. 

The bill would make it a criminal offence for an asylum seeker who requires entry clearance to arrive in Britain without it, with a maximum jail sentence of four years. We in Ireland have not always treated asylum seekers responsibly or with humanity. The direct provision system has been rightly castigated, including in this newspaper, and there has been a rise in refugees being refused entry to Ireland amid the pandemic.

However, the approval by Cabinet of a scheme to allow thousands of undocumented migrants and their families who are living here to become Irish citizens is a welcome step.

That humane response is in direct contrast to the British government’s proposals which are cruel and hateful.

Yes, Britain faces unique challenges — more than 25,000 migrants have reached its shores by boat this year alone. But its government must surely heed language such as that used by charity Freedom From Torture which called the bill “the biggest legal assault on international refugee law ever seen in the UK”. This bill would further isolate Britain, when the world needs Westminster to have the courage to listen.