SO, WHERE DOES SINN FÉIN STAND ON IMMIGRATION?

Cracks are appearing in the party’s once-resolute defence of undocumented immigrants’ rights to stay, writes Philip Ryan

The case of Eric Zhi Ying Mei is illustrative of where we have come from on the issue of immigration. Eric was nine years old in 2018 when he made headlines in Ireland. His mother, Chinese national Leena Mei Mei Xue, was given a deportation order that meant she and her son — who was born and raised in Ireland — would have to return to China.

Due to a referendum overwhelmingly passed by 80pc of the public in 2004, Eric did not have any birthrights to become an Irish citizen. But he had never been to China and was very much settled in Bray, Co Wicklow, with his mother who had come to Ireland illegally when she was 19.

The case caused a national outcry, not least in the Dáil, where a bill was introduced by People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy to effectively remove legislation underpinning the constitutional amendment removing birthright citizenship for the children of migrants.

Sinn Féin was staunchly supportive of Murphy’s proposal — unsurprising given Mary Lou McDonald’s party had campaigned against the constitutional change in 2004.

During the debate, Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire raised Eric’s case and described the 2004 referendum as a “deeply unsettling episode in Irish politics”.

“The debate gave vent to much xenophobic commentary, explicitly and implicitly, with dog-whistling in respect of racism a common feature,” Ó Laoghaire added, before saying he supported the passage of the bill.

This weekend, he was less robust in his views on immigration. He told the Sunday Independent the “perspective” in Sinn Féin at the time was to let Murphy’s bill move to committee stage as there are cases where children who only know Ireland as their home are facing deportation.

“We’re not proposing to re-run the referendum, but there is scope to resolve through legislation some of the cases that exist,” he added.

Ó Laoghaire has become the de facto face of the Sinn Féin’s immigration stance after the party posted a video online of him setting out its opposition to the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact. He insisted Sinn Féin is against open borders and criticised “bad faith actors” who are spreading misinformation.

He said the party is in favour of an “efficient and enforced” immigration system where decisions are made in Ireland.

The EU Pact would “tie the hands of future governments” and “cedes power” to Brussels on immigration issues.

The video was raised by Taoiseach Simon Harris in the Dáil during a debate on immigration.

However, on Friday, Ó Laoghaire insisted his language is no different from what Sinn Féin had proposed in its 2020 general election manifesto. The document insisted Sinn Féin wants to “avoid the failed policies that have fostered resentments and tensions in other countries”.

It said Sinn Féin does not want open borders and believes all states must manage migration “with well-functioning rules and regulation”.

It certainly stacks up Sinn Féin’s position that they have not pivoted their position on immigration in recent times.

But go back to 2016, the Sinn Féin manifesto promises to regularise all undocumented people living in Ireland.

A year later at the party’s ard fheis, delegates were asked to vote on a motion opposing any EU deal that “will see the mass deportation of asylum-seekers and calls on the Irish Government to ensure Ireland plays a leading role in tackling this humanitarian crisis and to open new legal channels for refugees to be resettled safely in Ireland”.

Sinn Féin did not respond yesterday to queries on whether the motion passed.

In 2019, as revealed in the Irish Independent last week, Sinn Féin senator and European elections candidate Paul Gavan called on the Government to “significantly increase” the number of asylum-seekers and refugees being accepted by the State.

Speaking during a debate of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, he criticised the Government for not accommodating 4,000 migrants it said it would house as increasing numbers of people sought to cross the Mediterranean.

“To put these two pitifully low figures in context, this year alone, 77,000 human beings have crossed the Mediterranean in a desperate journey seeking refuge and protection,” he said. “These figures for my country are, frankly, abysmal and a stain on our record in the field of human rights.”

Roll on another couple years, and Sinn Féin’s justice spokesperson Pa Daly was calling for asylum-seekers issued deportation orders to be included in a once-in-a-generation scheme to regularise 3,000 asylum-seekers and 5,000 undocumented migrants.

In a 2021 statement, Daly said the Government “somewhat heeded” Sinn Féin’s calls for people with deportation orders to be included.

“Others who do not meet the exact criteria should have their applications also examined, and the department should err on the side of acceptance,” he added.

As Sinn Féin has expanded over recent years, it has become a party with more varying views and opinions. It initially presented as left-wing republicans, but some of the more recent comments about the EU would not look out of place at a Tory Party conference.

In Eoin Ó Broin’s words, it is also unashamedly populist, which means it flies towards the electoral light like political moths.

The big issue is immigration, so Sinn Féin needs to be seen to take a tougher stance as public opinion shifts. But it comes with consequences, and there is a divide in the party over how it should approach immigration.

Just like Irish society, there is a broad spectrum of perspectives

The more left-leaning side fear they have now become the dog whistlers Ó Laoghaire warned about when calling for legislation to give children born to migrants immediate Irish birthrights.

On the other side of the debate, members believe they need to address the growing concerns among voters about record levels of immigration.

“Just like Irish society, there is a broad spectrum of perspectives,” Ó Laoghaire said. “So of course there is a diversity of views.

“It is a political party, and people have different opinions, but I think most people would share the basic principle of recognising the right to asylum and recognising the fact there needs to be rules, and I think that would be a fairly unified view across the party.”

As for Eric Zhi Ying Mei, he and his mother were given permission to remain indefinitely in 2019 after 67,000 people signed a petition asking for their deportation order to be lifted and local Wicklow politician and then health minister Simon Harris intervened.

In the current climate, you would hope a 10-year-old boy facing deportation would receive similar levels of support. However, given the scenes in Newtownmountkennedy, also in Wicklow, you would be forgiven for thinking we are a very different country five years on.