Regularising undocumented migrants: Does the scheme offer path out of the shadows?

Earlier this month, the Government announced that undocumented migrants who have been living in Ireland for at least four years, or three years in the case of those with children, would be able to apply to regularise their immigration status in Ireland and begin the pathway to citizenship.

Asylum seekers who have spent at least two years awaiting a decision on their international protection application will also be able to apply for regularisation under the scheme that runs for six months from January.

What will this six-month amnesty mean for the daily lives of the estimated 17,000 people who live undocumented in Ireland? And will some people fall through the cracks and not be able to apply?

Irene Jagoba, a carer and member of the Justice for the Undocumented Campaign, started speaking publicly about her undocumented status a few years ago. “I was nervous but I needed to be brave and stand up for everyone,” she told the podcast. “You feel like you have no voice because you cannot tell the truth.”

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“The regularisation scheme really is life changing, it’s a massive win, it’s historic. I believe it will transform thousands of families’ and workers’ lives here in Ireland. We will live a normal life. We won’t be scared anymore. We will live without fear.”

On today’s podcast we ask, how will this new “once-in-a-generation” regularisation scheme change the lives of undocumented people living in Ireland?

In the News is presented by reporters Sorcha Pollak and Conor Pope

You can listen to the podcast here:

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