28 March 2012
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Ireland
Appeal for
support of non-national parents and their Irish citizen children
"On
23rd January 2003, the majority of the Supreme Court of Ireland
upheld the right of the Minister for Justice to deport in certain
circumstances non-nationals from Ireland even if they were parents
of Irish children. However the Court also confirmed that all
children born in Ireland are equal Irish citizens irrespective
of the nationality or status of their parents. All citizen children
have a right of residency in Ireland and cannot be deported.
The Court also said that if the Minister wishes to deport non-national parents of Irish citizen children then he must carry out a detailed and individual examination of the circumstances of each case and establish that grave and substantial reasons in the interest of the common good exist, to interfere with the constitutional rights of the child's right to the company and care of their parents.
It would appear however, that since 23rd January the only part of the Supreme Court's judgement that the Minister wishes to have regard to is his power to deport non-national parents, as he persistently and determinedly refuses to abide by the other rulings of the Court.
Since July 2003, the Minister has been sending out letters to non-national parents of Irish children advising them that he intends to deport them.
The Irish Human Rights Commission has made its views known,
the Irish Council for Civil Liberties have written to the Minister
on many ocassions, Mary Robinson has endorsed the campaign and
now we are collecting as many signatories as possible to a letter
to be sent to the Minister calling on him to respect the rights
of all Irish children equally and to put in place a fair policy."
Ireland: No more right to remain for parents of Irish citizen
children
Eleven thousand asylum seekers face immediate deportation after
Minister of Justice Michael McDowell announced on 17 July that
their claims for residency solely on the basis that they have
become parents of Irish citizen children have been nullified.
Officials immediately issued 400 deportation notices. People
were told that they only had 15 days to appeal, but without legal
aid for a process that could cost between 2,000 to 4,000 euros.
The decision follows a Supreme Court ruling on 23 January this
year that removed the right of parents to remain with Irish born
children. While these Irish children cannot be legally deported,
they will be forced to leave the country with their families.
In effect, this marks the beginning of a racialised citizenship
law in Ireland.
The Supreme Court found that as Irish citizens, no child born
to non-national parents in Ireland, can be deported. Such a child
citizen has rights of residency. It also clearly sets out that
Irish child citizens have the constitutionally protected right
to the company of their parents and therefore that there is a
prima facie case for the family to reside in the State with their
child. But:
"the Court also found that the family rights of an Irish
child citizen are not absolute and can be restricted in certain
circumstances, including for reasons relating to immigration
policy. This therefore allows for the possibility of deporting
non-national parents of Irish children in certain circumstances,
as they are not by reason of constitutional imperative automatically
entitled to residency, although their child, as an Irish Citizen,
is." (Irish Council of Civil Liberties)
The mass deportation of parents of Irish born children, however,
was authorised a decision by the Justice department on 19 February
that removed the right of parents to apply for citizenship solely
on grounds of parentage to Irish born children. In reaction to
the notice on the Department of Justice website, Aisling Reidy,
Director of the ICCL commented:
"Far from what is implied by the Department of Justice,
this move is not a necessary result of the Supreme Court decision
in the Osayande and Lobe cases. However, those who were worried
that the Department of Justice would react in a broad, arbitrary
and unfair manner to that decision have had their fears confirmed
by this decision of the Minister."
The ICCL and the Irish Refugee Council pointed out that the Supreme
Court did not decide that non-national parents have no right
to apply for residency rather that it confirmed that every Irish
child citizen has a right to residency, irrespective of who their
parents are, but that non-national parents do not have an automatic
entitlement to residency.
On 17 July 2003 the Minister for Justice announced that a backlog
of 11,000 claims for residency for non-EU immigrant parents solely
on the basis that they have become parents of Irish citizen children
had been nullified. Four hundred notices of effective deportation
were issued, informing people that the Minister proposes to deport
them, and that they have 15 working days to make written representations
for temporary leave to remain on humanitarian grounds, which
may include parentage of an Irish citizen, the length of time
they have resided in Ireland and their family and domestic circumstances.
Alternatively those issued with the notices can agree to the
voluntary return option.
While Irish child citizens cannot be legally deported, they will
be practically obliged to leave the country with their parents.
The Minister made clear he will not be "blackmailed"
by parents threatening to leave their children behind, and, if
necessary, the courts will compel them to take their citizen
children with them.
The Coalition Against Deportation of Irish Citizens (CADIC) has
published an information leaflet (5.9.03) detailing the legal
aspects of these recent decisions (see http://www.childrensrights.ie/pubs/CADICinformationleaflet.doc)
Irish Council for Civil Liberties: http://www.iccl.ie/minorities/race/03_ibcsub.html
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