Publications

Immigration Enforcement in Northern Ireland

This article is based on the findings of an investigation into immigration detention practices by the UK authorities in Northern Ireland which is uniquely situated, having a geographical ‘border’ with the rest of the UK and a land border with the separate jurisdiction of Ireland.

The investigation was carried out by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, a non-departmental public body created by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and a national human rights institution with United Nations accreditation.1 This article summarises the methodology of the research and the key findings. In particular, the investigation found that there was too much discretion available to enforcement officials, which leads to individual human rights being compromised on a daily basis.