Bernie Goldbach in Cashel | Image of Claddagh School
AMERICANS THINKING ABOUT attending Irish schools, colleges and universities need to think about whether the fees they pay to the Irish Department of Education and Science are sending the right message to the Irish government. Because if you are a student with any kind of experience--and you happen to have dependents to prove your point--you could very easily get bundled up in the back of a Garda van for deportation from Ireland.
This is happening more often than reported in the media. It affected some of our friends in September and now the issue arises in Galway where the wrong answers given to a member of the Garda National Immigration Bureau could result in the deportation of a four year old from Ireland. Before I finished reading the first paragraph in a blog post written by James Britton, I knew how the story would unfold.
I have followed James Britton in his educational pursuits at NUI Galway. He came to Ireland with his wife and young son in the hopes of completing fourth level education. He and his wife have paid their fees and are well-advanced in their education. James returned to the States to complete his Masters in International Affairs in St. Louis, Missouri. Erin, his wife, has started her final year of a Masters in Medieval Studies programme at NUI Galway while son Aidan has been attending Claddagh National School in Galway since August 2007. Even though NUI Galway welcomes the international fees paid by the Brittons, the Department of Education and Science is not able to enter a fee-paying relationship concerning national schools with American citizens so that means young Aidan is now a full-fledged welfare tourist in the eyes of the Republic of Ireland. Knowing this, the Garda National Immigration Bureau has to follow procedures and that could lead to deportation for the young boy. Mom can stay because she's paid for the privilege to remain and study.
As readers here know, Irish ministers often fail to join up their thinking in matters concerning culture, education, justice, social welfare and competitive advantage. Although university registrars revel at the thought of gaining full fees from international students, and Ireland Inc benefits from the cross-cultural dialogue of international students on campus and in community groups, a thin blue line must be crossed at the steps of all facilities that care for dependents of those who pay for the privilege of living and learning in Ireland.
A word to the wise: once you realise you have answered more than four questions with a member of an immigration authority at any border crossing or in any administrative office in any country, you know you are being placed into a box for administrative discharge. I learned this lesson in an earlier job while traveling an average of 14 days a month for nearly five years, moving quickly through six different continents, at least three continents every month. The lesson about offering the minimum information came back into focus on many afternoons when I sat in the Harcourt Street immigration office in Dublin in the 90s. Then one afternoon I realised how easy it was to live and let live here in Ireland--how relatively simple it is in Ireland to live off the grid--I started seeing people who had simply dropped off the radar of immigration officials because they just didn't renew their documents. They were just biding their time and their last movement was to be out of the country with no need to return. This is not a recommended practise but one I know is followed (inadvertently in many cases) in both the States and Ireland. Few people get stopped when leaving sovereign nations.
Living off the grid is not a normal procedure for a mom and son. But few members of An Garda Siochana go knocking on doors to find people with expired documents. If they did, the country would grind to a halt, starting with all the improperly licensed and uninsured motorists. There are many dirty bibs around these parts and some of them sit in the highest-paid seats of government. We just don't ask too many questions because the answers make things more complicated than they need to be.
I'm just saying.
James Britton -- "Deport a four year old child?"
Previously -- "Aloha Ireland."
