Members of Congress from across the political aisle have raised concerns about the British government’s decision to appeal a case involving Co Derry woman Emma DeSouza, amid claims that it undermines the Belfast Agreement.
Ms DeSouza, who lives in Magherafelt, took a case against the Home Office after her American husband was denied a residence card. While she described herself as an Irish citizen in the application, the British authorities said they considered her British because she was born in Northern Ireland. Ms DeSouza won her original case, but this was overturned following an appeal by the Home Office in October.
Speaking to The Irish Times following a meeting with Ms DeSouza in the US Capitol, New York Republican Peter King called on the British government to consider its position.
“It is difficult to understand why the Home Office have taken this position, which goes against the spirt of the Good Friday Agreement, particularly given that this is taking place at a challenging time in terms of Brexit,” Mr King said.
Asked if the issue could become a stumbling block in the future US-EU trade talks, he said that while “99 per cent of people” in Congress were not familiar with the issue, it was now something that could emerge as a point of contention once the trade talks begin.
Philadelphia Congressman Brendan Boyle also criticised Britain’s stance on the issue ahead of a meeting on Wednesday in the US capital.
“The right of people in Northern Ireland to lay claim to either British or Irish citizenship is a cornerstone of the Good Friday Agreement,” he said. “The British government’s position undermines this.”
Ms DeSouza is in the United States this week in a bid to highlight her case. She will visit New York and Boston as well as Washington DC during her visit, where she will meet with senior figures in the Irish-American community and legal experts. She also met with former congressman Bruce Morrison, co-chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee to Protect the Good Friday Agreement, which was established amid concerns about the impact of Brexit on the Northern Ireland peace process.
Speaking in Washington, Ms DeSouza said her position was supported by the majority of political parties in Ireland and that she hoped to make her case to senior figures in the US community. “The US has shown enduring support for the Good Friday Agreement over the last 21 years. What’s at issue here is the failure of the British government to give domestic legal effect to a key provision of the Good Friday Agreement. Instead of addressing this implementation gap the government is applying a misreading of Good Friday Agreement that has a hugely damaging effect on the peace accord.”
Asked if she thought that Britain would double-down on its position following the election of a strong Conservative majority under Boris Johnson, she said ultimately she hoped Britain would be open to discussions on the issue. But, she added: “I don’t know if there’s going to be much progress made with the current cabinet. The Good Friday Agreement was after all a Labour deal. In many ways we see a disconnect between the Conservative Party and the Good Friday Agreement.”
The Irish Government has strongly backed Ms DeSouza in the case, and Tánaiste Simon Coveney has raised the issue with home secretary Priti Patel. Ms DeSouza is due to appeal the ruling in April.
The controversy over the case touches key issues of citizenship and national identity that are enshrined in the Belfast Agreement. The British government effectively argued that the British National Act 1981, rather than the 1998 Belfast Agreement, should apply in the DeSouza case, allowing them to argue that people born in Northern Ireland remain British citizens even if they identify as Irish.
