The UK’s “broken” immigration system is spilling over into tensions in communities in Northern Ireland, a Stormont minister has said.
Education Minister Paul Givan made the comments as unionist politicians have asked for further investigations into the legal planning status of hotels in the region housing asylum seekers.
Earlier this week Antrim and Newtownabbey Council said an enforcement investigation has begun into the legal planning status of the Chimney Corner Hotel in Co Antrim being used to house asylum seekers.
It comes after Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction by the High Court on Tuesday which blocks asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in the Essex town.
Unionist politicians have further raised concerns about the status of hotels within the Causeway Coast and Glens and Ards and North Down Borough Council areas.
DUP MLA Mr Givan said the UK Government had “failed Northern Ireland” over immigration.
He said: “The immigration system in the United Kingdom is broken, it has been a complete failure of the UK Government to protect the integrity of our borders.
“That is creating tensions within our communities.
“I think when people are in the country it is important that the rule of law is followed, we allow statutory authorities to deal with any issues.
“But when it comes to the actual immigration process, the UK Government is failing Northern Ireland, it is failing the United Kingdom as a whole.
“That does create tension, it creates pressures on our public services, within our housing system.
“The way in which the UK Home Office have been arranging having people in hotels and often buying up properties in working class communities, that creates tension.”
Mr Givan added: “I have constituents who have grown up in these areas and they are not able to get houses.
“We have young people who can’t get on the property ladder because of a failed immigration process.
“The challenge is for the UK Government to get its house in order and stop allowing the system that currently is being exploited to take place.
“We have to then deal with the outworkings of that.
“We need to do that in a way that minimises tensions, but it would be foolish of people to think there isn’t an issue being created through the failure of the immigration system.”
The DUP MLA said anyone who was in the country illegally should be deported “as quickly as possible”.
He added: “But we don’t have a proper process for timely removal of people who are here illegally.
“If people are here and they are seeking asylum then that process needs to be followed through as quickly as possible.
“If that asylum is turned down, again they need to be removed from the United Kingdom as well.
“Our system is broken, that is creating tensions in our public services which is spilling out into the wider community.
“The UK Government have failed, my party will absolutely champion the people of Northern Ireland when it comes to what they need around housing and the pressures they are facing.”
SDLP leader Claire Hanna said some politicians had been “bandwagon jumping” since the Epping Forest court ruling.
She told the BBC: “Of course hotels aren’t suitable accommodation in anything more than short term, it’s not ideal for the person whether that’s an asylum seeker or somebody who has been living here for a long time who is in emergency accommodation, because they are used for that purpose as well.
“The solution to me would appear to efficiently and speedily process people’s applications, that they’re not languishing in the system for years and years, and also it feeds into our wider and chronic lack of available social housing.”
