A government briefing on deportation policy said there were some people who were “non-returnable” to their country of origin due to serious mental health issues or an inability to determine their nationality.
The discussion paper produced by the Department of Justice also detailed how removals of whole families from the State almost never took place and that any attempt to do so generally attracts “negative publicity and political comment”.
The document detailed some of the many challenges in deporting people and how many cases could be “painful” and were “not always straightforward”.
It said there were a significant number of “non-returnables”, who, for a variety of reasons, could not be removed from Ireland.
The paper said: “Cases such as these can involve mental illness, an inability to identify nationality and on occasion, they can involve serious offences including those of a sexual nature, which attract negative media and public comment.
“An overarching policy on non-returnables might provide for some pragmatism in case management.”
It said there were also cases where a person was refused the right of residency in Ireland, but where there would be other significant challenges in seeking to remove them.
These cases could involve cases where a person’s whole family was already in the State, where it was impossible to get travel documents, or where the country-of-origin simply refused to accept their return.
The discussion document said: “In such cases, the State should not leave these people in limbo, living for long periods in direct provision. Instead, it should deal with these realities and decide to grant them temporary or tolerated leave to remain.”
Some of them have little or no familiarity with their country of origin, and are more Irish in everything but citizenship.
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Another challenge was in the deportation of individuals who had arrived in Ireland at a young age, and the only life they know is here.
It said cases had cropped up where people in these circumstances had committed a crime “some of it, at a serious level”.
The department paper added: “Some of them have little or no familiarity with their country of origin, and are more Irish in everything but citizenship.”
It posed the question: “When does criminality trump other considerations? In matters where integration and immigration intersect, what are the possible effects on young people of arguably being considered aliens by the state they identify most closely with?”
Serious illness was also another factor which had to be considered when deciding on a deportation, the document noted.
The State had cases where people were suffering from HIV/AIDS, or other life-threatening illnesses, and they were very unlikely to get the same standard of medical treatment in a different country.
“It is highly debatable whether the medication these individuals need to live will be available in their home states,” the paper said.
Other questions were raised over parental responsibilities, where a mother or father might be separated but were still “actively playing a constructive role” in their child’s life.
The discussion paper also asked how persistent lower level criminality, such as motoring offences, should impact how decisions are made.
Under the radar
It also raised ethical considerations over deportations where the person had never come to “adverse attention” and was a productive member of Irish society.
However, it added: “It creates conflict between people who pursue a legitimate course of action to reside in the State and those who dip under the radar.
“To not deport such a cohort rewards those who do not follow the law, and disincentivise those who do.”
The paper also discussed the possibility that a loose deportation policy could become a “pull factor”, especially in an environment where countries like the UK were talking about removing migrants to Rwanda.
“The current restriction on deportation may be one pull factor for would-be migrants, but others might include the favourable experiences of those already in situ, well-publicised welfare rates, perceptions of housing entitlements and the vibrant jobs market, particularly in some sectors that hold an attraction for unskilled labour.”
The document also flagged how migration issues were being “exploited by less acceptable elements in Irish society” especially in the midst of a housing and cost of living crisis.
The paper was prepared during the moratorium on deportations which was in place during the Covid pandemic.
The department had originally released a heavily redacted version of it under Freedom of Information laws, but were instructed to make public a far greater level of detail following an appeal to the Information Commissioner.
