THERE HAS BEEN a sharp increase in prosecutions of asylum applicants in recent months for not having passports or travel ID as they enter the State.

Figures obtained by The Journal show that 34 prosecutions have been taken as part of operations by the Garda National Immigration Bureau in the first two months of this year.

At least 18 people have received jail sentences in the courts in the same time period. Several of these have been for two-month periods.

This contrasts with the jailing of two people under the Act throughout the entirety of last year.

The sudden surge has sparked anger and surprise among migrants rights groups, who have complained of “interference” in the normal asylum process.

Typically, asylum seekers wait for periods reaching up to several years to have their cases processed before they have their cases ruled on by the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (Ipat). This body decides on whether the person has qualified to remain in Ireland.

While the relevant sections of the Immigration Act covering possession of ID documents are officially the law of the land, figures show they have rarely been enforced in recent years.

Immigration experts have said this is due to it being understood that the Act was not applicable to asylum applicants, due to legal protections for people seeking refuge.

The Movement for Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) told The Journal last week that it was very concerned by the practice, adding that it is a change to the system without any announcement having been made.

It has been seeking to challenge the prison terms imposed on asylum applicants through the courts.

Elsewhere, the Africa Solidarity Centre in Dublin has said it believes that “political reasons” are behind the greater implementation of sections 11 and 12 of the Immigration Act this year.

It has cited pressure by “anti-immigrant and far-right” movements as the reason for the sudden increase in cases.

Regardless of the reason, far more have been brought imprisoned by the courts so far this year, in contrast to the entirety of 2023.

Migrant rights groups and a solicitor have warned that government is trying to instill fear in asylum seekers from seeking refuge in Ireland.

They pointed to several recent cases of asylum seekers without documents being charged rather than being allowed to enter the IP system as part of operations by the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

A Department of Justice spokesperson told The Journal that the cases are are a matter for gardaí and the Director of Public Prosecutions, both of which it stressed are “independent in their functions”.

The department said that its immigration officials are working with airport authorities and airlines at a senior level to “underscore the importance of passengers” possessing correct documentation.

Earlier today, during an announcement on immigration reform, Justice Minister McEntee said that while “no country in the EU wants to deny refuge to those who are fleeing persecution”, adding that the government also does not want “our asylum process to be used as a backdoor to economic migration”.

Although she noted that there is a need for economic migration, she said this needs to be done via a different legal route.

The minister was announcing Ireland’s intention to join the EU’s Asylum and Migration Pact, which aims to cut down on the phenomenon known as ‘secondary movement’, whereby people seek international protection in a country different to the one in which they first arrived.