A legal dilemma often presents itself to officials who come into the presence of families who are both a mix of legal and illegal family members living in the same country. We encountered this a few times in our own legal consulting to refugees who came into contact with us in Canada. The International Herald Tribune decided this past week to discuss the issue regarding Ireland, focusing on a young Irish lad, George-Jordan Dimbo who was born in Ireland and became a citizen due to his place of birth, but is a son of illegal migrants from Nigeria. George-Jordan only ever knew an Irish life, but may "return" to Nigeria for the first time.
Ireland has always been seen as a country which has traditionally emigrated many of its citizenry, but in the last few years Ireland has become one of the most innovative an successful economies in the EU. As a result immigration has boomed, with an estimated 11% of the Irish populations being immigrants and masses of other EU and non-EU individuals going there to work, learn English and make a life on the Emerald Isle.
How does a new Ireland of immigrants handle these new dilemmas? In the event where such families exist in the Canadian system as the Dimbo family do in Ireland, the government must consider the best interests of the child. While the people born in Canada or Ireland a few years ago were considered automatic citizens, it did not mean that the child would stay in the country. If there were no chance of harm to the child they would return to their parent's country of origin with their main caregiver, but have the right to return an Irish or Canadian citizen when they wish or stay with legal citizens in Canada or Ireland. The parents however would be permanently removed from the country without much recourse, and to stop the whole family being deported it must be proven that the rights of the new citizen and a move would harm the social and emotional development of the child, something which is not commonly done in the Canadian system and may not have precedent in Ireland.
So for the next St.Patrick's Day, celebrated all around the world it would be proper to ponder the fact that the world has come to Ireland to celebrate many other festivals in the streets of Dublin. Some of these people will get to stay, and others will go but time and precedents in Irish society and courts may produce a more equal solution than how the Irish were treated as immigrants a long time ago. Over time Ireland may develop policies out of an Emigrant Nation in contrast to how the rest of the EU is turning to reverse many past open policies towards immigration. Until then, Cheers..
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