TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The UK plans to tighten immigration enforcement, including increasing checks at the border with Ireland, following unrest in Belfast, according to a report by Irish broadcaster RTE on Thursday, June 11, 2026, as quoted from Antara.
Irish Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan held separate phone calls with UK Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn and Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long, the report said, as quoted from Anadolu.
According to O'Callaghan's office, the talks discussed cross-border cooperation and measures to maintain the Common Travel Area—an arrangement that allows British and Irish citizens to move freely between the two countries.
At a UK-Ireland summit in March, the two governments agreed to expand the exchange of information on migration and strengthen efforts to identify individuals who abuse the travel facility, O'Callaghan's office said.
Meanwhile, a stabbing incident in Belfast on Monday sparked anti-immigrant riots and intensified debate over the movement of people across the open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
A Sudanese national named Hadi Alodid is accused of repeatedly stabbing a local man in the head and upper body in a videotaped attack on a Belfast street.
He was arrested at the scene on Monday and appeared in court on Wednesday, where a judge ordered his detention.
According to police, Alodid traveled from Sudan to Paris before flying to Dublin and then entering Northern Ireland.
He applied for asylum in February 2023 and was granted UK residency that same year. Police said Alodid was never on security surveillance.
The attack, which left a local man seriously injured, sparked anti-immigrant riots in several areas of Belfast.
Mask-wearing groups set fire to houses and vehicles during the riots. Police arrested at least 16 people in connection with the violence on late Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government is devoting additional resources to combating illegal immigration, including in Northern Ireland.
According to RTE, intelligence-based operations will be expanded over the next three years, including targeted checks in the Common Travel Area to detect and detain undocumented migrants.
The UK Home Office has allocated £3.7 billion (almost Rp89 trillion) for various immigration enforcement measures until 2029.
Read: Belfast Stabbing Suspect in Court After Night of Protests
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