Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin supports the motion. Like many others, I have been disturbed and appalled by the images coming from the US-Mexico border. Separating children from their parents and detaining them in cages is inhumane and a violation of child and human rights. The audio mentioned of children crying out for their parents, while a federal officer said it was like an "orchestra", reveals just how far wrong the policy has gone. There are reports of lights being kept on for 24 hours a day in the detention centres where these cages are to be found and young children relying on others for basic things such as having their nappies changed. Another report revealed that a ten year old girl with Down's syndrome had recently been separated from her mother and young brother as they attempted to enter the USA. Clearly, children are getting lost in the new system and, increasingly, there are parents who are trying to find out where their children are being detained. A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that over 2,300 children were separated from the 2,200 parents who had crossed the US border without documents between 5 May and 9 June. Amnesty International has stated the new policy of separation and the caging of children were nothing short of torture. I agree. It is mental and physical abuse.

The Trump Administration has reached a new low with this immoral policy which it should end. It is clear there has been a deep shift under the Trump Administration to criminalise immigration and dehumanise immigrants and those seeking asylum. President Trump said last night that immigrants were pouring into the USA and infesting the country. He has previously called immigrants "rapists" and claimed that the majority were criminals. Many of the families in question have gone through hell to reach the US border and risked death, rape, hunger and thirst, believing they would be granted asylum in a country that would protect them. No human being is illegal and no one should be treated like this, especially vulnerable children. The US Government is violating its international responsibilities. It is disappointing but not entirely surprising that it is now also removing itself from the UN Human Rights Council.

US Government officials have claimed they are being forced to break up families to follow the law, but legal experts believe these claims are false and that there are currently no legal statutes that mandate the separating of children from families at the US border. It appears to many that President Trump's Administration is using the issue as a way of somehow pressurising Democrats into pushing through immigration reform legislation which includes funding for his border wall which clearly neither the Mexican people or Government will fund. The Minister must also express Ireland's opposition to this policy of separation and the caging of children directly with the US Government.

There is also a responsibility on us to review our own immigration policies. Ireland's direct provision system is clearly a gross violation of people's human's rights and should be dismantled immediately. Many people have been languishing in this repressive system for years and we need to replace it with a new system that will have human rights and the protection of human dignity at its core. A regularisation scheme for undocumented immigrants in Ireland should also be introduced. Migrant Rights Centre Ireland estimates that between 20,000 and 26,000 undocumented immigrants, including children and families, are living and working in Ireland. Regularisation would not just be the smart thing to do, it would also be the right thing to do. No young child should have to grow up here in fear and undocumented, with no rights and no supports. These workers and their families should have the right to move from the shadows into the open. The undocumented and their families should have the chance to live in dignity and safety, free from the awful worry of the unexpected knock on the door in the middle of the night that tells them that they are to be placed in custody with the possibility of being put on an aeroplane to God knows where.

While we rightly condemn the US Government's inhumane and cruel immigration policies, collectively we need to commit to creating a more humane refugee and immigration system in Ireland.

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