Story perspectives

Ireland Detects 5,460 Illegal Non-EU Nationals, Records 2,030 Deportations

5/13/2026

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Summary

Ireland Detects Illegal Immigrants

Ireland detected 5,460 illegal non-EU nationals in 2025, a 67 % rise from 2024.
Brazilians (1,080), Georgians (930), Algerians (535) and Nigerians (395) formed the largest shares of detections.
While the European Commission ordered 6,260 non-EU nationals to leave Ireland in 2025, a 91 % rise, Ireland returned a record 2,030 people to third countries, 18 % as forced deportations and 74 % with EU-funded assistance.

Summary

EU Border Refusals

Turkish nationals were the largest group deported from EU countries in 2025, with 13,405 returns.
EU border refusals rose 7.1% in 2025, reaching 132,600 people.
Albanians ranked second for entry refusals at 12,430, behind Ukrainians (26,975), with Italy (3,220) and Greece (2,670) recording Albanian refusals and Poland accounting for 28,960 refusals, 21.8% of EU total.
Human-rights groups documented at least 80,865 informal “pushback” incidents across EU borders in 2025.

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Ireland Detects Illegal Immigrants

Ireland detected 5,460 illegal non-EU nationals in 2025, a 67 % rise from 2024.
Brazilians (1,080), Georgians (930), Algerians (535) and Nigerians (395) formed the largest shares of detections.
While the European Commission ordered 6,260 non-EU nationals to leave Ireland in 2025, a 91 % rise, Ireland returned a record 2,030 people to third countries, 18 % as forced deportations and 74 % with EU-funded assistance.

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