Rising Anti-Immigrant sentiment here only breeds fear of violence & exclusion – more has to be done to Tackle Hate Crime. Again, put the Irish down, and the Aliens in, a Opinion now, is a Hate Crime.

Immigrants in Ireland are twice as likely an Irish-born people to be living in poverty

THOUSANDS of people leave Ireland each year to live in other countries, while many more come here to live, work and study.

In April 2024, our estimated population was 5.38million people. Of that, almost 16 per cent are citizens born in other countries.

One of those is Irish Sun reporter ­Isabela Boechat, from Brazil. Being an immigrant often means being an outsider – and they may find themselves on the margins of society.

But writing here today, Isabela says that many of the best stories lie hidden in the fringes of a community.

And her background as an immigrant allows her to report on another side of Ireland – one that many people often don’t see or hear about.

LIKE many Brazilians, I first came to Dublin for an English language exchange, in 2017.

Recently there has been a crackdown by the Gardai — assisted by Europol and the Brazilian Federal Police — on cross-atlantic prostitution and human trafficking rings.

Investigators believe a group has been operating in the shadows here since 2017.

Around 70 women have been identified as possible human trafficking victims. A document released to me by Brazil’s Federal Prosecution Office reveals the suspected gang leader’s ruthless control of the women.

“Crime must not be confused with immigration. Criminals must be treated as such, regardless of nationality.”

Ireland has its own painful experience of emigration. But now, centuries later, Ireland has an increasing migrant population — nearly 15.5 per cent of the population are citizens of other countries.

These numbers do not include undocumented individuals, meaning the real figure is likely to be higher.