Immigration Bill will undermine integration
The haste with which this bill is being rushed through without any period of consultation and with official
advisory bodies such as the National Consultative Committee on Racism & Interculturalism (NCCRI) and the Human Rights Commission expressed severe reservations displays a complete contempt for democracy.
This haste is especially interesting since the Government has proved so tardy in updating Ireland's incitement to hatred legislation and producing its long overdue national action plan against racism and report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Indeed, given the Government's many international, European and national commitments on racism, this regressive and damaging immigration bill displays at best a degree of confusion and at worst a dangerous hypocrisy.
In our opinion, this bill effectively facilitates institutional racism.
By delegating quasi-judicial authority to figures such as customs officials, the bill is turning the law into a tool of segregation rather than one of justice and equality.
By severely restricting and regulating the freedom of movement of non-Irish or EU nationals, telling landlords they must be policemen and introducing a wide range of new offences there is a real danger that this bill may criminalise a broad section of Irish society, build a climate of fear and suspicion and pave the way for a growth in racial profiling. This actively undermines integration and interculturalism.
That all members of Irish society who are not Irish or EU citizens should find themselves subject to such an ill-thought-out and repressive set of laws is wrong and will be of no benefit to Ireland.
Yes, Ireland needs a good immigration system. But it needs to be fair, just and transparent. This bill does not meet any of these criteria.
Alice Mary Higgins
Le Chéile
Artists in Ireland Against Racism
Emma Lane-Spollen
Comhlámh
Irish Association of Development Workers
10 Upper Camden St
Dublin 2
