Blistering White House press conference sees US announce monitoring of Ireland for human rights abuses against native Irish population

Pic: Washington Foreign Press Centre, Nov 24

Niall Feiritear

The United States of America has begun monitoring the Irish Government for the occurrence of human rights abuses upon the native Irish population as a result of Leinster House's policy of allowing mass migration onto our island.

US Official Leah Knobel hosted the jaw dropping press announcement on Monday November 24. The State Department made reference to the Irish Government buying up houses for migrants, resultant crime and human rights abuses inflicted upon the Irish population, as well as attempts to curb free speech in Ireland.

Almost unbelievably, none of this has been reported in the Irish mainstream media. Stick with Side Stream. We will always bring you the truth, verbatim. Take it away Ms Knobel:

"So last Thursday evening, the Department of State sent out a cable to our embassies in Europe as well as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, requesting that those embassies begin collecting data and reporting on migrant-related crimes and human rights abuses facilitated by people of a migration background.

"This is part of a broader refocusing of the human rights portfolio of the State Department under President Trump and Secretary Rubio that aims to develop human rights without selectivity, without cherry-picking on partisan lines. 

Middle Eastern men are squashed into residential houses in Drumcondra (with marquee in garden)

"And by that I mean addressing human rights concerns that previously were not addressed for various reasons, whether that be because they were politically incorrect or they weren’t convenient to prevailing narratives.  The Trump Administration is very committed to addressing human rights concerns wherever and whenever they find them.  And there’s a particular concern, as the President and the Secretary have stated over and over again, with the mass migration crisis in Europe.

"Part of that cable was also an instruction to all of our embassies in Europe as well as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to engage the government, to let them know the United States’ concerns surrounding mass migration, and to let them know that the United States stands ready, willing, and able to support them in handling what we see as an existential crisis. 

"I’m sure you all saw the tweet thread that we put out simultaneously, and I would just like to reiterate what that tweet thread says, which is that mass migration is an existential threat to Western civilization and the safety of both the West and the world.

"We are particularly concerned about not only the violation of national sovereignty, which in itself is already an egregious violation of basic rights and the rights of sovereign citizens in these countries, but also human rights abuses and what we see as very egregious human rights concerns surrounding mass migration and the facilitation of mass migration.

Irish women protesting for their safety in Garda station - largely unreported in Ireland.

"Just to go through a couple of those concerns, the foremost of these is sexual assault.  If you look at Europe, for example, and various countries in Europe, there are concerning increases that we’re seeing in sexual assaults and violent sexual aggravated attacks, particularly on women and young girls, by people of a migration background, particularly people of extremist Islamic background as well, everything from violent rape gangs and organized rape gangs in the United Kingdom to targeting of young girls in other countries. 

"We also see instances of human trafficking, antisemitic and anti-Christian attacks, largely by people of radical Islamic backgrounds.

"And then another one that I’ll just flag for you that we’re also particularly concerned about is the phenomenon of displacement.  So obviously, as large influxes of migrants come into these countries, often they are impacting the economic viability of housing.  They’re taking over housing. 

"Often housing is bought up by governments to place the migrants, or just to provide them housing, and that obviously can end up displacing or degrading the property value for people who are citizens of those countries.  Ireland is a particular case here, and we see that the housing crisis is particularly acute there, with citizens voicing their displeasure.

"On top of that, the government response, we’re also concerned about what we see as two-tiered justice, where migrants and the crimes that are committed by migrants often receive much more lenient punishments than equivalent behaviours by local populations. 

Irish man Ross Lahive was arrested for simply asking the Irish Taoiseach some questions about human rights abuses to the native Irish population

"And I’ll just highlight one particular case in the thread, though there are multiple other cases that we can talk about, in Germany, where a woman, a young woman, was brutally raped by migrants, and then a friend of hers, I believe, criticized one of those rapists on a – online.  And while both were prosecuted, the rapist ended getting a more lenient punishment than the girl, who just insulted the sick, vile rapist online.

"This is a real problem.  There are security implications to this.  There are cultural implications to this.  There are economic implications to this.  And we think it’s about time that for the sake of our allies, for the sake of their citizens, for the sake of our friends, someone said something about this.  And at the same time, the negligence on this issue, the mass migration crisis, by the human rights community, by the international community, has been glaring.

"This is an egregious human rights issues, and the President and the Secretary have been courageous enough to take action.  We want to help our friends.  We care about our friends in Europe.  We care about our friends in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.  But in order for us to have a strong alliance, we need a strong citizenry.  We need a citizenry who sees their voices and concerns heard, that are treated equally and with respect, that have access to basic public goods, that can – that their children can have the ability to walk down the street and not be victims of assaults or trafficking or rape.

A Wicklow couple had their home built garden cabin destroyed by the Irish Government- even though Middle Eastern migrant men were being housed in identical cabins 2 miles away.

"And so the United States is ready, willing, and able to help end that, end the scourge of mass migration and help our allies as best as we can.  But in order to do that, you need to start treating this phenomenon as the problem that it is, and that’s what we’re doing.

"I’ll just make one more note.  Some people might be conflating the mass migration cable communique with the human rights reporting communique cable that came out a little earlier in the day on Thursday.  I just want to note those are two distinct cables – the human rights reporting cable which does now include, among other additions, reporting requirements on mass migration as part of our coverage of human rights concerns in countries around the world.  That is distinct from the migration cable, which is more particular and goes into more detail.

"That should indicate to everybody the seriousness with which the Trump Administration is taking this phenomenon.  The fact that it is – how it is being run out of the DRL Bureau, our human rights and democracy bureau, should say something about how seriously we are taking this issue as a matter – a threat to democracy, a threat to sovereignty and representation, as well as a threat to basic human rights. 

A reporter then asked the following question:

“Immigration is a major driver of economic activity in Western countries.  How does the U.S. view the balance between encouraging immigration that boosts economic growth and setting hard limits to prevent mass migration?”

Wicklow migrant site

The Senior State Department Official replied:

"Right.  It’s a great question, and obviously there’s nuance to this issue.  I would turn to the President’s comments when it comes to immigration that supports economic growth.  He was talking about it in the context of – recently of South Korea and the need to bring certain high-skilled workers, a very small select group that can help upskill U.S. workers and help train them in complex tasks so that they can then become sufficient and grow the U.S. workforce’s capacity.  That’s an example of immigration that can be useful.

"And there’s no one in the Trump Administration that’s saying, carte blanche, all immigration at all times in all places is bad.  That is a wholly distinct issue completely from what we’re seeing happening in Europe and across the developed world with the mass migration crisis.  This is not economic migration. 

"Or maybe it’s economic migration for the people coming in, but as far as economic benefits, the claims that mass migration is economically beneficial across the board is completely dubious.  In fact, when you talk to people on the ground, these local populations who are often being displaced out of their houses, that are having their jobs taken, that are seeing their communities degraded, when they’re seeing crime spike, when they’re seeing their children attacked, I don’t think that – I don’t want to speak for them per se, but it doesn’t seem to me that the economic benefits are there.  And so while there certainly is a place for that type of migration, the phenomenon we’re talking about here is completely different.

Men in balaclavas guard the migrant sites in many cases in Ireland

"In all the countries that this cable was sent to, there is a directive in the cable to engage with the governments directly both to convey our points and our concerns, which is something that governments do all the time to each other, but also to indicate that we are willing to help.  And part of that is collecting data that the governments can provide us on the crime phenomenon.

"Now, I will note that often these types of statistics aren’t reported, and so our hope is that if these things haven’t been reported or recorded by governments in the past, maybe our engagement can encourage them to begin collecting this kind of data.  But maybe they have been collecting this data already, and so part of this process is going to be working with these governments.  We want to be helpful.  We see the countries in Europe and across the West as some of our greatest allies.

"But at the same time, this administration has not been afraid to criticize our allies when we see serious problems and we have serious concerns.  That’s part of being in a close relationship.  I turn – I would cite the Vice President’s speech in Munich in February regarding free speech and censorship and democratic backsliding in Europe, which are all very, very serious concerns that we have, and of course, the migration issue is related to that.  So we’re not going to be afraid to call out our friends just as much as we’re willing to call out our enemies when we see very serious problems.  That said, we’re very willing to work with the governments to try to find a solution to these issues.

"It’s encouraging when you hear politicians recognize the mass migration crisis is real, that it’s a real issue for their citizens.  That’s a step forward, because there are a lot of politicians and governments in Europe that are tending not to think – or not to call this out for what it is.

"At the same time, I will note, with the British Government in particular, time and time again we’ve seen governments – whether it be conservative governments, labor governments – say that they’re going to take action to solve the mass migration crisis, and time and time again, despite the people continuously voting for a resolution or at least some sort of relief from the pressures of mass migration, nothing has really happened.  And so that’s something that I know that the British people are definitely worried about and concerned about, and it’s something that the United States is – it’s a concern the United States shares with them.

Government built site in Clonmel

Reporter: " So you’re saying basically that it is an issue, a problem in your view that institutions in Brussels are deciding something that should be a decision of states?

The White House Official replied: " Absolutely.  And this is consistent with our broader concerns in Europe regarding over-regulation and violation of sovereignty by the European Union.  We’ve been very vocal about our concerns about things like the Digital Services Act, which is obviously an EU piece of legislation that in practice can often censor or stifle free speech in member-state countries and also extra – outside of Europe as well, including potentially affecting American speech. 

"We’ve voiced our concerns about things like the AI Act that is pending, the Digital Markets Act, other types of Brussels regulations.  There’s other case studies where the EU has imposed its view over the sovereign will of the people, like in the case of Ireland and their case regarding compliance for free speech.  But this definitely falls in that category as well.

"One thing we’re particularly concerned about on the human rights front is the strains that large influxes of migrants can place on markets, particularly housing markets, resources.  And so when a region or a town receives a large influx of migration, particularly if there’s legislation like in the case of Ireland where the government will subsidize housing for those migrants by buying out hotels or apartment buildings or what have you, that has a pretty direct adverse impact on the local population – the people that the government in particular has a foremost obligation to.

"As far as what we’re going to be using the data for, obviously it’s going to feed into our reporting, like the Human Rights Reports.  There’s – there is a section in those Human Rights Reports which hopefully will come out in either Q1 or Q2 of next year – hopefully, the earlier the better – on mass migration.

"The other part of it is as far – as part of the State Department’s messaging, we really want to start messaging on this issue as a human rights concern.  And let’s be very clear:  Mass migration is a human rights concern.  The impacts that it has on the safety of women and girls, on religious freedom, on property rights, on national sovereignty, on crime, human trafficking, the whole – there’s a whole slew of human rights issues that mass migration exacerbates and makes worse, and as well as obvious political issues with two-tiered justice and things like that.

Next question was asked: "And so sorry, can I just clarify?  So – and this is definitely not limited to illegal immigration?  This is the concern by the U.S. Government that other governments are running a legal migration program that is too big?

State Department Official: " Right.  I mean, obviously, illegal migration is the big kind of – the elephant in the room.  But mass migration more broadly is a concern in itself.  Obviously, we know there are good people out there.  America has many – its history is one of many great people coming in the legal way, assimilating into American culture and contributing. 

"The President has been very clear that he supports that kind of immigration.  But you have to be – you have to be – have some common sense about that, and you also have to understand the limitations, just the very practical limitations, and also the security concerns that come with mass migration, and what happens when you import a substantial number of people into a very tight particular area.  There are very real concerns and ramifications that come out of that.

"On the other hand, you also have to call a spade a spade when it comes to Europe and the fact that a lot of the migrant crime, a lot of the human rights abuses, are perpetrated by people who subscribe to radical Islamism.  The fact that there are Christmas markets in Germany and Central Europe that aren’t going to be operating publicly this year because they’re afraid of terrorist attacks and targets on Christians; the fact that – there – we’ve seen heinous antisemitic attacks perpetrated by people of a migration background against Jewish communities – that’s also a real concern, and I don’t think we should shy away from that.

"What we’re trying to say is that we’re not here to determine a country’s immigration policy for it.  Obviously, the United States was built with many, many great immigrants who assimilated into the culture, who contributed to the United States, who wanted to be Americans, who were patriotic, who are part of this country and its history.

"What we’re trying to caution is, I think, twofold.  One is concerns about the rapid importation of large quantities of people, regardless of their background – whether they’re from France, whether they’re from Africa, whether they’re from the Middle East – into a particular place regardless of their ethnic background.  That’s going to put strains on the system.  And so that in itself is a concern.  Obviously, illegal migration in itself as a matter of sovereignty and law and order is an issue of concern.

"And then on the cultural side, we’re not here to make adjudications particularly, but when there are people of – who are radical Islamists who are coming into a country, who subscribe to an ideology that is diametrically opposed to the ideas of democratic self-government that Canada, the United States, and I believe most of Europe claim to represent, that’s an issue, right? 

"And so we would just – we’re hoping that governments will scrutinize those types of factors much more.  We’re not telling them how they should govern in particular or how their policies should look; but to pretend like certain strains of Islam or certain radical strains of other ideologies don’t have negative impacts on a country, that’s just blatantly false, and it’s a disservice to the citizens of those countries that are going to be impacted by it.

"The first thing – and I’ll remind everyone – is reporting cables like this that come out from our bureau to embassies around the world are standard operating procedure.  There is nothing new about the United States State Department sending out a request for data on human rights issues from our embassies.  That’s part of why our embassies are in these countries, and we see it not as a – uniquely an opportunity to scold our friends or other countries, but to call attention to an issue and hopefully help those countries.

"So the first thing that we’re trying to get out of this is just data and cases.  So much of this stuff, these types of incidents – different human rights abuses perpetrated by people of a migration background – come up sporadically through the internet, through independent media, through civil society. 

"But there isn’t a place that we can just collate and verify and scrutinize these reports, but we have diplomats out at our embassies who can do that, who can go out and do the human rights reporting and the investigative work.  And so that’s the first thing, is that we want to actually formalize the process of addressing this issue and hopefully develop a catalog of incidents that can then be used to inform our diplomacy, that we can share with our allies to hopefully inform their policy decisions, which are obviously theirs to make.  But that’s the first thing, is we need to just be collecting this data in a helpful and useful way to everybody involved.

Devastated Irish protest after African migrant raped an Irish child (10)

"On the second part of this, I think there is a real desire from the administration side to kind of revitalize the human rights conversation in a way that we believe it’s been lost. 

"One of our biggest grievances about the international human rights community is its selectivity, the fact that it often waxes poetic about institutional violence against women and girls, which it should, but then when little girls are raped in the United Kingdom over the course of years and the government doesn’t do anything about it, or a little girl is raped in Sweden by a migrant, no one calls that out. 

"Everyone’s silent on that issue.  Or people talk about human trafficking, but when women are smuggled across the Darién Gap in Latin America, that’s not spoken about.

And it’s not just migration, mind you.  This is also the case with free speech.  Free speech is important everywhere, obviously.  I don’t mean to diminish it in any part of the world, but for some reason, when people are arrested for praying outside of abortion clinics in the United Kingdom, the human rights community is silent. 

"People care about race-based violence and incitement to violence, as they should, but when white people are systemically targeted in South Africa, the human rights community is conspicuously silent.  The Trump Administration is saying begone to partisan human rights and focusing on what it means to actually defend people’s unalienable natural rights to life, liberty, and the security of the person, and this is part of that.

"So to answer your question, to put a point on it, the second part here is that we need to kind of get back to human rights rightly understood and to be explicitly clear that the United States is going to be considering the facilitation of mass migration and the negative impacts that this has on local populations – as well as migrants, mind you. 

"It’s not a mutually exclusive thing – are egregious human rights violations.  They are violations of the safety – the sanctity of life and the security of the person, and we call on governments and the international community to do something about it, no matter how politically incorrect they deem it to be."