UK Tightens Immigration Surveillance After Belfast Unrest
Brussels (ANTARA) - The United Kingdom plans to tighten the enforcement of immigration rules, including increasing inspections at the border with Ireland, following riots in Belfast, according to reports from the Irish media outlet RTE on Thursday (11/6).
Irish Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan held separate telephone talks with UK Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn and Northern Ireland Minister Naomi Long, according to the report.
According to O’Callaghan’s office, the discussions addressed cross-border cooperation as well as measures to maintain the continuity of the Common Travel Area—an arrangement that allows British and Irish citizens to move freely between the two countries.
During the UK-Ireland Summit last March, both governments agreed to expand the exchange of information regarding migration and to strengthen efforts to identify individuals who abuse these travel facilities, stated O’Callaghan’s office.
The issue has resurfaced following a stabbing incident in Belfast on Monday, which triggered anti-immigration riots and intensified the debate regarding the movement of people through the open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
A Sudanese national named Hadi Alodid is accused of repeatedly stabbing the head and upper body of a local man in a street attack in Belfast that was captured on video.
He was arrested at the scene on Monday and appeared in court on Wednesday, where a judge ordered his detention.
According to the police, Alodical travelled from Sudan to Paris before flying to Dublin and subsequently entering Northern Ireland.
He applied for asylum in February 2023 and obtained residency in the UK in the same year. Police stated that Alodid had never been under the surveillance of security services.
The attack, which left a local resident seriously injured, sparked anti-immigration riots in several areas of Belfast.
Masked groups burned houses and vehicles during the unrest. Police arrested at least 16 people in connection with the violence on Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration is preparing additional resources to combat illegal immigration, including in Northern Ireland.
According to RTE, intelligence-based operations will be expanded over the next three years, including targeted checks within the Common Travel Area to detect and detain undocumented migrants.
The UK Home Office has allocated £3.7 billion (nearly IDR 89 trillion) for various immigration enforcement measures through to 2029.