Immigration authorities discuss illegal worker trade

UK Immigration Service officials are in discussion with their Irish counterparts to identify ways of ensuring that fewer offenders gain entry to the UK via Dublin Airport.

Ulster Unionist assembly member Danny Kennedy said that assurances had been received from the government in light of the recent BBC documentary highlighting cases of illegal workers in Northern Ireland who have entered via Dublin Airport.

The Newry and Armagh assembly member said he welcomed any move to tackle what he described as an "alarming operation" uncovered in the BBC's 'Spotlight' programme.

Mr Kennedy said: “The Immigration Service deported 94 people who were in the province unlawfully last year and some of the total included illegal workers.

“The government has confirmed that because of free movement between the UK and the Republic and no passport control at the border to physically prevent the entry of anyone who might be inadmissible, no illegal immigrants have been intercepted on entering Northern Ireland from the Republic since 2000.”

Mr Kennedy said he had been assured that a co-ordinated multi-agency response to organised immigration crime into the UK, included Northern Ireland.

Known as ‘Reflex’, the initiative, led by the National Crime Squad involves police, immigration services, security and intelligence agencies and the Foreign and Commonwealth Offices in monitoring organised immigration crime.

Mr Kennedy said: “'Reflex' feeds into the Organised Crime Strategy Group, chaired by the Home Office, on which Northern Ireland Offices officials sit and in turn the Northern Ireland Organised Crime Task Force, set up by the Secretary of State, which co-ordinates multi-agency activity against organised crime in Northern Ireland.

"While the number of applications for asylum have increased significantly in recent years, these are very small in comparison with the rest of the UK," said Mr. Kennedy, who added that he had been told that the scale of illegal immigration into the province did "not appear to reflect national trends".

In an effort to establish a baseline for the scale and potential growth of the problem, Mr Kennedy added that a strategic project to examine organised immigration crime is currently being undertaken by the PSNI in co-operation with a number of other government and law enforcement agencies through the offices of the Organised Crime Task Force.

(SP)