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Ireland's political and cultural magazine
3 2 December - January 2017
I
N JUNE 2015, a group of teenagers met in the Migrant
Rights Centre Ireland for the first time. Each of them
had grown up in Ireland, and was undocumented,
and most had never spoken about this to anyone
outside of their own families. They formed a group
and called themselves ‘Young, Paperless & Powerful’.
The group have since then worked to tell their stories
through film and art. In August, they performed original
spoken-word pieces to a large crowd, revealing their
fears and dreams with heart-breaking honesty. They are
smart and irreverent, multilingual, insightful, and
obsessed with Snapchat. They are ambitious and fear-
ful, simultaneously full of hope and doubt.
Of 540 undocumented migrants surveyed by Migrant
Rights Centre Ireland in 2014
• 44% have children under the age of 18
• 21% have children here with them in Ireland
• 33% are currently paying income tax
• 1 in 5 is here over 10 years
There are 20,000 to 26,000 undocumented people
living and working in Ireland. This includes between two
and five thousand undocumented children and young
people.
Their situation is an inevitable consequence of an
immigration system created on a piecemeal basis. Just
as with undocumented Irish people in the USA, the vast
majority of the undocumented people in Ireland entered
the country legally. They were on a student visa, tourist
visa or work permit, and they subsequently became
undocumented. Some 20% have been
in Ireland for more than ten years.
Children and young people are undoc-
umented in Ireland either because
they were born to undocumented par-
ents or because they joined their
parents who were working in
Ireland.
Onerous consequences afflict
young people when they are undocu-
mented and living what are precarious
lives. Many suffer from anxiety and
depression, due to the daily stress.
Children become aware of their par-
ents’ lack of legal status from a very young age. Fear
leads most to hide their irregular status from everyone
outside their immediate family. They often obsessively
avoid situations which could result in the disclosure of
their undocumented status. Even when they are victims
of serious crimes, undocumented young people are
reluctant to contact the Gardaí for fear of being exposed.
As they approach their Leaving Certificate exams, they
become more aware of their uncertain futures and the
limited options available to them after secondary school.
Without permission to work in the State, young people
who have reached employment age are often exposed
to exploitative work conditions, and end up working in
jobs their undocumented parents have been struggling
to survive in for many years.
Without access to education, work and secure resi-
dency, the cycle of low-wage work and poverty will
continue. The loss of potential is staggering. Feelings of
deep frustration and hopelessness manifest as these
young people watch their peers move on while they
remain stuck. Without opportunities for economic inde-
pendence and development, young people often become
isolated and socially excluded.
These people work in Irish businesses, care for Ire-
land’s children and older people. They bolster the Irish
economy and, naturally, put down roots in Irish commu
-
nities. Ireland is their home. Our politicians show
profound understanding of the plight of the undocu
-
mented Irish in America and their experience of living in
fear of the authorities and being unable to return home
for family births or funerals yet they have taken no action
for the undocumented in Ireland experiencing the same
struggles.
Earlier this year, the UN Committee on the Rights of
Children highlighted the failure of the Irish immigration
system to address the needs of undocumented children.
They urged Ireland to “ensure that the legal framework
includes clear and accessible formal procedures for con-
ferring immigration status on children and their families
who are in irregular migration situations”. We are in
breach of our international human rights obligations.
We can no longer ignore this situation. A regularisa
-
tion scheme, as proposed by the Migrant Rights Centre
Ireland, offers a straightforward and pragmatic solution.
There is support for regularisation right across civil soci-
ety. Employers, trade unions, community and voluntary
organisations and experts agree. This was evident in
recent presentations to the Oireachtas Committee on
Children and Youth Affairs and to the Justice and Equal-
ity committee where there was cross-party support for
regularisation.
There is no good reason not to act now, to protect chil-
dren and young people and uphold their rights.
Edel McGinley is Director of the Migrant Rights Centre
Ireland. Young, Paperless & Powerful continue to share
their stories and campaign for regularisation in Ireland.
Regularise
undocumented
child migrants
by Edel McGinley
Around 25,000
undocumented people,
2000-5000 of them
children, live in Ireland.
Their precariousness is an
inevitable consequence of
a piecemeal immigration
system
POLITICS
