In Ireland, asking immigrants to weigh in on immigration policies is mostly box-ticking, community organisers say

When Dutch officials asked other EU member states whether seeking immigrants’ input was part of the process for creating immigration policies, answers varied.

It was “personal involvement” of immigrants in the development of “national/ministerial”-level policy, that Dutch officials sought to know about.

Some countries, like Italy and Finland, said yes, they include immigrants.

Finland has an Advisory Board for Ethnic Relations, with 34 members, “ten of which have to be representatives of immigrants and ethnic minorities”, its officials said.

The board’s recommendations are not legally binding though, they said.

Meanwhile, Irish officials said, “in general no”. Ireland doesn’t have a specific system to invite immigrants’ feedback on immigration policy proposals.

But it offers pathways for the general public to offer their views on some proposed immigration policies, they said, in answer to the ad-hoc query through the European Migration Network in October 2024.

“Submissions are usually requested in written format. In general, written submissions must be emailed, alongside a covering letter. Other formats such as video can also often be facilitated,” they said.

On a recent afternoon, Lassane Ouedraogo, chairperson of Africa Centre, said he’s made plenty of submissions over the years.

He’s also attended “NGO forums” with immigration officials where they “brief” on different matters, he said, but dissenting voices fall on deaf ears. 

“We are called to be briefed on what has been decided,” said Ouedraogo matter-of-factly, sitting behind a busy desk in an office on Amiens Street. 

Other community organisers also say immigration officials either don’t reach out to immigrant communities at all, talk to them once a policy has already rolled out, or they discuss it before that but their minds are already made up. 

“It’s box-ticking,” Ouedraogo said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said it holds “regular stakeholder forums  where groups representing migrants are updated on immigration related matters”.

Before shifting family reunification policies recently, for example, “there was also regular engagement with groups representing migrants who also made submissions”, the spokesperson said. 

And their submissions were “carefully considered” as part of a review. 

No heads-up?

When the Department of Justice brought in visa requirements for citizens of Bolivia back in 2023, Gabriela Burnett was the president of the Bolivian Association of Ireland.

The move followed months of hassle for Bolivian travellers to Ireland, who were facing growing refusals to board by airlines, being told that border control in Dublin was calling the shots.

“Many Bolivians were stopped from travelling based solely on nationality. Even individuals with valid Irish residency were prevented from boarding flights,” said Burnett.

Not only were they losing money on plane tickets and the like, people were humiliated, too, she said.  

Later, a trove of internal documents suggested that the Department of Justice officials tried to downplay its role in those rejections.

Burnett – who was navigating a cascade of requests for help from Bolivian citizens or their relatives who were facing refusals at the time – didn't have an answer as to why it was happening.

And later when the Department of Justice did change visa rules for citizens of Bolivia, it came as a surprise, she said.

“Our community only became aware of it when people were already being denied boarding by airlines or stranded in transit,” said Burnett.

Officials engaged with them afterwards, not beforehand, Burnett said. “It was reactive, not participatory.”

Sometimes, the changes are so quiet that they jar those whose lives are suddenly touched by them, Ouedraogo of Africa Centre said.

He points to how the Department of Justice recently sent a letter to refugees who’d applied for citizenship before a litany of new policies kicked in.

The letter said they couldn’t count their time towards citizenship from when they applied for asylum – which was practice for years – but rather from when they were granted protection which is a new approach. 

“Who did they consult for that?” said Ouedraogo, who is a former refugee.

In response to queries last month, a Department of Justice spokesperson didn’t acknowledge that it had changed its practice for past applicants. 

Don't think twice, it's all right

Ouedraogo also points to how family rights for refugees shifted in a way that widens class inequality among the group, making it harder for lower-income families to reunite with loved-ones. 

In the past, those granted refugee status had a one-year window to bring kids or partners over to Ireland, without meeting income thresholds set by the Department of Justice. 

That has now changed. 

He would have recommended against the pivot, Ouedraogo said, if anyone asked.

But that doesn’t mean the government would have cared, anyway, he said. He’s come to believe that the government doesn’t invite the public's opinion on a proposed immigration policy with an open mind. 

Decision-makers’ minds are already made up at that point, he said. And that’s a problem, Ouedraogo said.

“Totally agree,” said Burnett, who is now an organiser at the volunteer-run group, Latina Women Against Violence.

The fact that lots of those decisions touch the lives of people who can’t vote at all, or can’t vote in general elections, said Ouedraogo, means TDs are not super motivated to stand up for immigrants either.

“But that shouldn’t be the case,” he said. 

He notes how the Dáil voted to join the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which brings in harsher asylum rules for most people.

Promises, promises 

Lucky Khambule of the Movement of Asylum Seekers (MASI), mentions how its members were invited to share their experience as Catherine Day – who led a government advisory group – dreamed up a roadmap for ending the direct provision system.

“And we did participate,” he said.

The fruit of those efforts was the White Paper for Ending Direct Provision published in 2021.

Its recommendations were to be laid down by the end of the previous government’s lifetime.

That didn’t happen as the number of people seeking asylum grew after pandemic travel curbs were lifted.

It was “thrown in the bin”, said Khambule.

Then the government drew up a new accommodation strategy, which whittled down the White Paper’s recommendations, and pinned its focus on securing 13,000 beds in state-owned asylum centres by 2028.

Though it’s unclear if it can deliver.

Meanwhile, Ouedraogo, chairperson of Africa Centre, said media headlines about how much private landlords make from renting out properties as asylum shelters rouse division – because nothing has changed.

Even before the Catherine Day report, said Ouedraogo, it was the McMahon report that didn’t reform the accommodation system.

He said it’s disappointing that when the government makes a conscious commitment to document experiences shared by people seeking asylum and weave a plan that promises change, it doesn’t go anywhere much.

Solidarity forever 

Burnett, the former president of Bolivian Association of Ireland, said navigating hardened immigration policies takes a toll.

It makes people feel powerless, she said. But they can try to find reprieve by seeking shelter in each other’s company – bearing their cross together, said Burnett.

“When people come together, they realise they are not alone and that what they are facing is not a personal failure, but part of a wider system,” she said.

It doesn’t wipe away the hardship, of course, said Burnett. 

But “it provides reliable information, emotional support, and solidarity, reminding people that they matter and that their voices still count,” she said.

On Saturday morning, members of Latina Women Against Violence gathered at a co-op space inside Phibsborough Shopping centre for their regular community meet-up.

As Burnett’s little boy helped and goofed around them, the women adorned the room with small heart-shaped papers, hugged, gabbed in Spanish and brought pre-loved clothes to swap.