![\"Stormont](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/gavin-robinson-hard-border-not-the-answer-to-immigration-control.jpg\")
Gavin Robinson said violent protest makes \u2018it harder to have the serious conversation that is now needed about immigration and border security\u2019 (Liam McBurney\/PA)<\/p>\nThere is \u201cno effective people border\u201d on the island of Ireland, the leader of the DUP has said, as he called for better-enforced \u201cimmigration controls\u201d.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Gavin Robinson said a \u201chard border\u201d is not the solution, after asking Keir Starmer on Wednesday what the British prime minister would do to ensure \u201che protects and closes the open, porous border\u201d on the island.<\/p>\n
There was unrest across Northern Ireland this week in response to a knife attack on Monday night in which a man suffered significant injuries, including the loss of his left eye.<\/p>\n
Sudanese national Hadi Alodid, 30, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alodid came to Belfast by bus in February 2023, having flown to Dublin from Paris, bringing the Common Travel Area (CTA) between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland into political focus in both jurisdictions.<\/p>\n
In a letter to party members, Robinson said the attack on Stephen Ogilvie has \u201cshocked Northern Ireland\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent time with Stephen\u2019s parents on Thursday,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the trauma they are enduring, their message was clear: reject violence and focus on Stephen\u2019s recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to pray for Stephen and for his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cViolence, intimidation and racism are wrong. They solve nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, they make it harder to have the serious conversation that is now needed about immigration and border security.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis debate is no longer confined to traditional political boundaries in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cConcerns are being raised by people from all backgrounds who simply want to know that immigration is controlled, fair and commands public confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin Robinson said violent protest makes \u2018it harder to have the serious conversation that is now needed about immigration and border security\u2019 (Liam McBurney\/PA)<\/p>\n
He also criticised Sinn F\u00e9in for being \u201cout of touch\u201d with people\u2019s \u201cconcerns\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile Michelle O\u2019Neill\u2019s response has effectively been that there is nothing to see here, many people across Northern Ireland believe legitimate questions deserve proper answers,\u201d the DUP leader said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt present, there is no effective people border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe answer is not a so-called hard border.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the height of the Troubles, with 25,000 soldiers deployed and extensive security infrastructure, no-one succeeded in sealing the border.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody is proposing that in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe answer is for the United Kingdom and Irish Governments to work together on effective immigration controls, intelligence sharing and enforcement at ports and airports, preventing abuse of the system before people ever reach the land border.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a British Isles solution that works for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is \u201cno effective people border\u201d on the island of Ireland, the leader of the DUP has said,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-498756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}