Discursive Representations of Asylum Seekers and Illegal Immigrants in Ireland

Abstract

Migrants are often referred to as an all encompassing group of people and the “many faces of migration”, the variety of people, legalities and complexities involved, can be overlooked. The same can be said for non-EU migrants in the Irish context. Non-EU migrants (or those that are not Caucasian) are generally viewed to be a distinct cohort of comparable migrants. Indeed, these migrants are often portrayed in a broadly negative way by key Irish institutions (such as the parliament or the media), and these representations impact upon how Irish society views non-EU migration and indeed migration in general. While Ireland is by no means the only European country in which this type of practice occurs, this paper aims to draw attention to generalized, inaccurate and misleading representations of non-EU migrants in Ireland, by specifically examining representations of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. There can be an overlap in how these “types” of migrants are conceptualized and this paper therefore aims to develop an understanding of the implications involved for migrants categorized as an “asylum seeker” or an “illegal immigrant.” Furthermore, these topics are under-researched within the Irish context, yet they receive much political and public attention. At the same time however, this paper aims to challenge the labels assigned to non-EU migrants and the terminology that is used to define their identity so concretely. In the Irish context there is much confusion in relation to the multiple “faces” of non-EU migration, as a range of terminology is used to refer to them. This terminology is often used in an interchangeable manner, in an array of societal contexts. There is a consistent (whether this happens intentionally or unintentionally is debatable) misuse of categories and migration terminology in Irish institutional discourses. Quite often those seeking asylum are referred to as illegal immigrants and vice versa. Paradoxically, to an Irish audience it is very clear who the “undocumented Irish” in the US are, as these Irish emigrants, who are residing and/or employed illegally/without documentation in the US, have gained and still gain huge public and government support, both politically and financially. The paper draws attention to the confusion that exists around the different statuses of non-EU migrants, focusing in particular on the categories of “asylum seeker” and “illegal immigrant”, and explores the differing practices of labelling of non-EU migrants in Ireland. It will be argued throughout this paper that the categorizing and labelling of migrants is an implicitly political act of exclusion.