An African refugee group has accused the Government of treating Irish-citizen children of immigrant parents as second-class citizens.
This follows moves by the Department of Justice to notify hundreds of immigrant parents, whose claims for residency were recently annulled, that they face deportation.
The Department has issued at least 700 letters informing people that it proposes to deport them, and giving them three weeks to apply to the Minister for Justice for temporary leave to remain in the State on humanitarian grounds. Some 11,000 outstanding residency applications have been made by immigrant parents on the basis that they have become parents of Irish children.
However, non-EU immigrant parents are no longer entitled to automatic residency once they become parents of Irish citizens, following a significant Supreme Court ruling last January. The Department of Justice stopped accepting fresh applications on this basis last February.
The Department's recent decision to effectively cancel residency claims dating back to September 2001 has caused concern among migrant groups, who had sought an amnesty for those whose residency applications were pending at the time of the Supreme Court ruling.
The authorities have offered to subsidise travel expenses for immigrants who volunteer to return to their native countries, thereby avoiding deportation. While Irish citizens cannot be deported, in practice they are likely to accompany their parents.
The African Refugee Network said it was concerned some parents might leave their children behind in Ireland if they felt there were security risks.
"Seemingly, this particular category of Irish citizen of second class is being forced to become stateless," said the group's project officer, Mr Deo Ladislas Ndakengerwa.
The network has also raised concerns about how immigrants will afford legal fees to make their applications for temporary leave to remain on humanitarian grounds.