THE IRISH Government should afford illegal immigrants the same concern it shows US-based “undocumented” Irish, trade union Siptu has urged.
Welcoming US President Barack Obama’s assurance to Taoiseach Brian Cowen that his administration’s new immigration policies would weigh in favour of undocumented Irish in the US, Siptu said undocumented immigrants in Ireland should also have the opportunity to explain their illegal status.
“Rather than making deportation the first response to the problem of undocumented migrant workers, they should be permitted to make a case as to why they should be allowed to stay in this country,” said Rhonda Donaghey of the union’s domestic workers support group.
“In our experience the most common reason for migrant workers failing to have the necessary documentation is employer exploitation. Some employers have tried to use the work permit as leverage in order to dictate pay terms and conditions of employment.”
She said other employers have encouraged migrant workers to operate in the black economy, paying them less and avoiding tax or insurance liabilities.
“We have come across cases where workers have been effectively trafficked in order to service black economy activities in this country,” Donaghey said.
“In the overwhelming majority of cases of undocumented migrant workers we have dealt with, the worker is the unwitting victim of exploitation by others. Yet those others rarely suffer the consequences from a legal standpoint, while the worker invariably does.”
According to Donaghey, appeals to stay are overly dependent on media exposure, and should be based “on a proper system of evaluation”.
“The success of an appeal to remain should not depend on how much media exposure you can achieve for your plight but instead should be based a proper system of evaluation which can be availed of by every worker in this situation so that the particular circumstances of each case can be judged on their merits.
“So when Government representatives welcome a process to enable undocumented aliens to regularise their situation in the US, they should act on their own advice when they get home by establishing a similar process in Ireland,” she said.
Last October, the Government introduced a scheme offering a temporary stay of four months to immigrants who could prove they became undocumented through no fault of their own. During this window, an immigrant must seek legitimate employment or if they are already employed, obtain an employment permit from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Migrant rights groups have suggested that this scheme falls short of what was campaigned for.
