No such thing as ‘unvetted migrant’ to Ireland – GNIB

The head of the Garda National Immigration Bureau has said that there is no such thing as “an unvetted migrant” to this country and that everyone coming to Ireland seeking international protection is fingerprinted and identified.

Detective Chief Superintendent Aidan Minnock also rejected claims, most notably by the far right, that asylum seekers are criminals who pose a threat to public safety.

He said the vast majority are economic migrants seeking a better life and that the few who have criminal records are detained before being removed from the country.

However, he also said that Albanian, Romanian and Chinese organised crime groups involved in drug dealing, car theft, exploitation and people smuggling are operating in Ireland.

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Significant increase in numbers seeking protection

There has been a significant increase in the numbers coming to Ireland seeking international protection, up from 13,000 in 2023 to more than 21,000 over the last year.

Most, the gardaí said, are economic migrants fleeing poverty and war, attracted here by security, stability, the climate, labour market and welfare systems.

However the gardaí have rejected claims circulated online and by the far right at protests that these people are “unvetted”.

Det Chief Supt Minnock said every asylum seeker is fingerprinted and identified and if they have a criminal record they can be deported.

Gardaí said that organised crime groups with branches and facilitators here are involved in people smuggling – exploiting legitimate employees like hauliers, airline and port staff, producing false documents, aswell as imposing huge debs on migrants and forcing them into prostitution, labour and criminality.

They operated networks of smaller groups that specialise in different areas of the criminal enterprise – advertising, cyber crime, finances, production of forged documents, exploitation of legitimate businesses such as engineering companies to make boats.

Legitimate businesses are also being exploited such as haulage companies, flight attendants or other airline or shipping staff that may be vulnerable to exploitation.

Some migrants have paid over €25,000 to come here.

Charter flights to commence again in 2025

The immigration bureau said the numbers being removed, deported or leaving voluntarily has more than doubled and that charter flights to remove large numbers of failed asylum seekers will commence again next year.

Gardaí also rejected claims that serious criminals and terrorists are coming in to the country pretending to be asylum seekers and insist that any person identified as being a threat to the state coming in is detained and kept in custody or closely monitored before they are deported.

Det Chief Supt Minnock said they operate a four stage programme.

Operation Aneken involves education and awareness where they work with hauliers to prevent stowaways coming in.

There is also an airport liaison programme, upskilling airline staff around false documents and preventing people boarding.

Undocumented arrivals

Operation Sonnet involves prevention, detection and prosecuting undocumented arrivals.

163 people have been brought before the courts this year so far, 131 have been convicted and all were sent to prison.

There is also covert monitoring of facilitators moving people across the border from Northern Ireland and overt checkpoints on the M1 and other routes.

Gardaí have identified Albanian, Chinese, Romanian criminal gangs here and have along running investigation into a Jordanian gang here making and distributing false documentation and sending around the world.

They said once the criminal gangs have been identified, the Immigration Bureau liaises with other specialist units such as the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and the Criminal Assets Bureau aswell as local detective and drugs units.

Albanians running heroin in west Dublin have been targeted by the Criminal Assets Bureau but gardaí say a lot of Albanians who arrive here go to the UK, while Jordanians and Palestinians use the UK as a transit point to come here.