The United States immigration offices in Dublin and Shannon airports have begun implementing Donald Trump’s executive order of a three month ban on people from seven Muslim countries entering the US.
The immigration offices allow people to avoid US immigration and customs when they arrive in America. However, one person has already been refused the pre-clearance by immigration staff at Dublin Airport in the wake of the new executive order.
The 90 day ban applies to people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Entry to the US for Syrian refugees has been denied indefinitely.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he does not agree with the ban at a press conference at Government Buildings, “in respect of the policy introduced by the American government, I disagree with it”.
He ordered a “complete review” of the system of US pre-clearance in Dublin and Shannon airports, following a warning from Minister for Children Katherine Zappone that the new ban could potentially be illegal in Irish airports. She wrote to the Taoiseach seeking an investigation into the travel ban.
Despite disagreeing with the ban, Mr. Kenny still intends to travel to the White House for his annual St. Patricks Day meeting with the American president, claiming calls for him to boycott the invitation are “populist”.
The Taoiseach said that raising concerns with Donald Trump in person is the best way to represent the objections of the Irish people. “I intend to go to the United States, I intend to speak directly to American President in the White House.”
A government spokesperson said that the visit allows the Taoiseach to talk in person with the new president, outlining “his government’s views on a range of issues, including business and economic ties, immigration and other matters of common interest”.
The DCU International Relations Society talked to the College View about the ban, saying “while the Trump administration justify that the security situation in the seven countries named in the ban poses a risk to the United States, a temporary ban on admitting individuals from those countries is somewhat crude and needlessly disruptive.”
In regards to people being detained on Irish soil, as a society they are “disheartened to learn of the immigration order’s negative effects on the movements of law-abiding individuals on grounds of nationality.”
Fionnuala Walsh
Image Credit: AP/LM Otero