Northern Ireland secretary
James Brokenshire says London and Dublin will share data to stop migrants using
Irish border as backdoor into Britain
Britain
is seeking to shift the frontline of immigration controls to Ireland’s ports
and airports to avoid having to introduce a “hard border” between north and
south after the UK leaves the European Union, the Guardian has learned.
The
Northern Ireland secretary, James Brokenshire, has told the Guardian that
London and Dublin will work to strengthen Ireland’s external borders in order to
combat illegal migration into the UK once it leaves the European Union.
In an
interview, Brokenshire said there was now a “high level of collaboration on a
joint programme of work” between the two states to control immigration.
“We have
put in place a range of measures to further combat illegal migration working
closely with the Irish government,” Brokenshire said. “Our focus is to
strengthen the external border of the common travel area [CTA], building on the
strong collaboration with our Irish partners.”
The CTA
is a unique arrangement that allows for full freedom of movement between people
from Ireland and Britain on both islands.
After
Britain’s vote to leave the EU in June, concern mounted that to control
immigration, measures would have to be imposed on the 300-mile border between
the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. Any such border controls would
probably be seen as a violation of the Good Friday agreement and a provocation
in a region that has only relatively recently put violence behind it.
Shifting
the onus of immigration control to Irish entry points such as Dublin airport
and Rosslare port would avoid this. However, it would also make a mockery of
claims by the Brexit camp that leaving the EU would enable Britain to “take
back control of its borders”.
Brokenshire
said: “We are already working closely with the Irish government and other
members of the common travel area to prevent people from seeking to evade UK
immigration controls from entering via another part of the CTA. There is a high
level of collaboration on a joint programme of work. This includes investment
in border procedures; increased data sharing to inform immigration and border
security decisions; passenger data systems enabling the collection and
processing of advance passenger information; and harmonised visa processes.”
The
measures will be aimed primarily at non-Europeans seeking entry into the CTA.
Politicians on all sides of the divide on the island of Ireland have expressed
concern that Irish border towns such as Dundalk could become the “new Calais”
if people-traffickers trying to send migrants into the UK target the Irish
Republic as a “jump-off point” into Northern Ireland.
Precedents
already exist for this Anglo-Irish collaborative model: Indian and Chinese
visitors are subject to a system whereby they apply for a single visa, valid
for travel in both Ireland and the UK.
The joint
Anglo-Irish border procedures will not be able to stem the arrival of EU
nationals, as they will retain the right to free movement to live and work in
the Irish Republic. However, this point is seen as moot: officials believe few
EU citizens will want to come and work illegally in the UK after Brexit. “The
numbers would be very small,” said one diplomatic source familiar with Brexit
discussions.
The Fine
Gael-led coalition government in Dublin has confirmed it is in negotiations
with London to better share intelligence to tighten immigration controls for
people from outside Britain and Ireland.
Ireland’s
foreign minister, Charles Flanagan, said he welcomed Brokenshire’s commitment
to an invisible north-south border and agreed on the importance of an
intelligence-led approach to curbing illegal immigration across the Irish
border.
Flanagan
said: “In terms of the threat of illegal immigration through the border, the
sharing of information is vital, as is the sharing of systems and the use of
digital technology. These are means by which we can ensure that any adverse
impact is minimised. The object of our engagement is to maintain the common
travel area.”
However,
he stressed that upgrading immigration controls between the UK and Ireland
would, from Dublin’s perspective, have to be negotiated alongside the country’s
EU partners.
“I
caution that this will be a decision not just by the UK or Irish governments
but ultimately also by the 27 EU states. I have been impressing on my fellow 26
EU foreign ministerial colleagues the importance of maintaining what is now an
invisible border. I have to say there was among them a deep understanding of
the consequences for the peace process of the reimposition of a heavily
fortified border,” he added.
Brokenshire
said that Brexit would neither destabilise the power-sharing institutions set
up under the Good Friday agreement nor provide any propaganda boost for hardline
dissident republicans opposed to devolution in Belfast.
“Political
stability and prosperity in Northern Ireland has been hard fought over many
decades, and we will not do anything to undermine it,” he said. “There is no
reason to think that the outcome of the referendum will do anything to
undermine the rock-solid commitment of the UK government and the people of
Northern Ireland to the settlement set out in the Belfast agreement and its
successors.”
The
Northern Ireland secretary insisted that he did not even want to see customs
checks on the border when the UK triggers article 50 and finally leaves the EU.
“The open
border for people and businesses has served us well and no one wants to see a
return to the borders of the past. It is a high priority for the government
that we do not see border controls coming into place. There is a very strong
commitment from the Irish government as well as ourselves to see that that does
not happen.”
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