Immigration laws 'need bold reform'

The Government's proposed legislation on immigration is causeing serious concern for all those trying to make a new life in this country, a group of 26 immigrant organisations has said.

The Immigrant and Minority Ethnic-Led Organisations (IMELO) will outline their concerns to the Department of Justice in the next fortnight.

The department is currently drafting legislation - the Immigration and Residence Bill - which will be published in the autumn. It has published a discussion document on the Bill and is calling for submissions by the end of the month.

In their draft submission, seen by The Irish Times, the 26 groups in the IMELO, which include the League of Filipino Nurses, the Ireland India Council, the Africa Solidarity Centre and the Polish Information and Cultural Centre, call for "a bold programme of reform" of the whole immigration system.

They have often felt lost in the current immigration system which is a warren of one-off schemes and single issue legislation, they say. However, they believe the structural defects in the immigration system are scarcely addressed in the proposals.

Instead, they are piecemeal and "depend greatly on the principles of ministerial discretion and unspecified secondary legislation".

They would effectively leave immigrant communities in limbo in the current system "waiting for a trickle of one-off schemes that might take years to implement and would be subject to the variations in the political climate".

Of particular concern to them is the impact that the current system is having on immigrants' family life.

Problems with family reunification and the issuing of visiting or residence visas for family members have all caused problems.

The groups point to the importance afforded to the family in the Constitution "as the necessary basis of social order and as indispensable to the welfare of the nation and the State".

Obstructing immigrant communities' right to family life could create a two-tier society, they say.

They seek clear guidelines "that recognise the importance of the extended family" and the right for family members to work.

The groups welcome the Government proposal for a permanent migration scheme.

"We believe that the principle of 'permanence' is crucial to recognising immigrants as social beings and potential members of Irish society rather than just workers," the groups conclude in their draft submission.