Midlands North West “will become a magnet for asylum seekers” as result of the shock ruling by The High Court in Belfast that now makes it illegal for the UK Home Office to deport any illegal immigrants based in Northern Ireland to Rwanda, according to European Election candidate Peter Casey.
“The Northern Ireland High Court ruling means that both the North and border counties will become a magnet for illegal immigrants from the mainland UK who fear being deported to Rwanda,” said Peter Casey who is running in the Midlands-North-West constituency.
“There is a misconception that Dublin has the most asylum seekers in the country – it is actually Donegal that has the highest percentage of migrants per head of population. One in every 100 people in Donegal is an asylum seeker – and that’s just the official figure!
“In truth, it is probably much higher now with illegal immigrants flocking across the border because of the UK’s no nonsense policy to deport them to Rwanda – and that will increase tenfold with this alarming High Court ruling.”
The former Dragons’ Den star said he was concerned that the Irish government has now admitted that – due to extreme pressures on the asylum systems – they cannot screen all illegal immigrants, which is required by law to be carried out within 30 days of an illegal immigrant’s entry into the state.
“This is a worrying concern. For example, the Irish government has just come out and said that any illegal immigrants with mental disorders or so-called victims of human trafficking are not being screened,” he said.
“The Irish government has now admitted that this process for them was stopped in March. People are being stopped for car tax, for God’s sake, while these asylum seekers go unvetted! Where are the priorities?”
The successful businessman, who came second in the last presidential election, also believes that voters will not be “fooled” by Sinn Féin’s new policies on illegal immigrants, which he has described as “disingenuous”.
He said, “Sinn Féin’s have undergone a disingenuous Pauline Conversation on the road to – not Damascus – but rather power in the Dáil. They are now calling for border controls, but in 2016 Sinn Féin’s manifesto promised to regularise all the undocumented people living in Ireland.
“Then, a year later at Sinn Féin’s Ard Fheis there was a motion forwarded to oppose any EU deal that would ‘see the mass deportation of asylum-seekers’ and it called to ‘open new legal channels to refugees to resettled safely in Ireland’.
“But since they have read the room Sinn Féin’s are now playing a different tune. Mary Lou and Co are playing us for fools. This type of a u turn demonstrates that the public cannot trust any of the establishment parties – including Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Greens and even Sinn Féin’s – on migration.
“The Midlands North West constituency needs a true independent voice in Brussels to ensure we don’t remain a soft touch in this ongoing refugees crisis. That is why I am asking for your number one vote on Friday, June 7.”