Gardai have announced plans to carry out "immigration checks" as part of a wider plan to tackle Dublin's inner-city crime rate.
Armed garda officers are being deployed in the city amid huge controversy over the rise in violence in Dublin. The deployment of armed gardaà is part of a €10m plan announced by Justice Minister Helen McEntee to make the city safer.
A statement issued by the Garda Press Office said there could be "days of high impact visibility" involving checkpoints, the execution of warrants, service of summons, intelligence-led searches and arrests, immigration checks and enforcement of road traffic offences. Armed units of the Garda, dog units and public order units will also be deployed.
But many immigrant representative groups have expressed concern over this. Immigrant groups are concerned about the implications.
Brian Killoran, CEO of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, said it was crucial that the Garda avoid disproportionately targeting minority groups.
Such actions inadvertently convey the false impression that immigrants are more likely to become criminals. Such narratives are frequently propagated by far-right activists and are simply false.
Edel McGinley, director of the Migrants' Rights Centre Ireland, said: "We are deeply concerned about the risk of racial profiling and the unjustified and disproportionate inclusion of such measures.
"These inspections have the potential to completely undermine the GardaÃ's efforts to build good relations with immigrant and ethnic minority communities." The MRCI has written to Justice Minister Helen McEntee and Assistant Garda Commissioner Angela Willis explaining why immigration checks are being included alongside measures to increase the Garda presence.
In response to a rise in violent crime in the capital, gardaà say they are working to increase visibility in the capital. Speaking on News at One when asked about immigration checks, Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis said gardaà would investigate all crime in the city centre.
It may include people who are not registered by legislation or, in some cases, people who have deportation orders and have not left the state when they are allowed to do so. A spokesman for An Gardai said checks carried out under Operation Citizen were no different to immigration checks carried out on a regular basis.