COMMON TRAVEL AREA; DUBLIN TO BELFAST. Common travel Area “The problem is that migrant workers and other migrants sometimes do not realise they are crossing a border...They might be making a short journey and do not bring ID with them.” Northern Ireland focus group participant The Common Travel Area (CTA) between the UK and the Republic of Ireland was first recognised in the 1920s. It has been described by the British government as permitting British and Irish citizens “to move freely between the jurisdictions without the requirement to carry a passport”.27 This does not then apply to people who are not British or Irish citizens. Furthermore, the British Government currently intends to introduce routine passport control at CTA 1.0 BACkgROunD AnD IntRODuCtIOn 13 mrci.ie ‘Singled Out’ Exploratory study on ethnic profiling in Ireland and its impact on migrant workers and their families Migrant Rights Centre Ireland ports on air and sea routes and ad hoc mobile immigration checks on road borders and has stated that this will be done on the basis of “intelligence and risk”. A UK Minister has stated that on the main Belfast-Dublin route, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) would: “target the odd bus, minibus or taxi, because our experience has shown that those are much more likely to be a threat.”28 The British Government has indicated that British and Irish citizens would not be required to carry a passport or national identity card. On these proposals, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has raised concerns about how exactly non-CTA citizens will be identified and is concerned that minority ethnic persons would have to constantly carry identity papers or face frequent questioning regarding their status and, potentially, detention.29
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 00:30:54 +0000
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