Disorder in NI: Have at least 400 families left NI since the riots?

• Very little data exists around how many people have left NI since the most recent race-related violence.
• By Sunday 15 June, 86 families had contacted the Housing Executive citing the disorder.
• Groups working with those affected estimated that 200 people left their homes in Belfast as a result of the violence.
• However, there’s a difference between (temporary or permanent) displacement within Northern Ireland and permanently leaving.
• The disorder remains recent. No full accounting of its cost or its effects has taken place as yet. Better information in relation to these events may become available over time.

On 14 June 2026, a poster called “Dee Dee” used a Facebook page called ‘Our Northern Ireland Voice – Protecting Our Culture from Foreign Infidels‘ to make the following claim:

This comment was during a period of protests and racist disorder following the stabbing of Stephen Ogilvie in North Belfast on 8 June. The suspect, Sudanese national Hadi Alodid, has been charged with attempted murder.

The post from Dee Dee makes several claims, but this article will focus on the suggestion that over 400 “migrant” families have left Northern Ireland following the riots. (For anyone who is interested, FactCheckNI has looked previously at some of the entitlements available for different types of migrant).

Ultimately, this claim is unsubstantiated.

The disorder in question took place only a number of weeks ago. The fallout is still ongoing – including whether certain people or families leave their home, decide definitively not to return, and then choose somewhere else to live (whether within NI or elsewhere).

Very few firm statistics exist in relation to this issue. However, we do know that:

• By 5pm on Sunday 15 June, 86 households had contacted the NI Housing Executive citing civil unrest, 26 of which were requests for temporary accommodation.
• Different community organisations working with people affected by the disorder estimate that around 200 adults and children fled their homes across Belfast.
• The Assembly heard that healthcare workers had been targeted in the attacks, that some victims were British citizens.

Ultimately, the disorder seen across Northern Ireland in recent weeks is just that – recent. This means sourcing precise figures for the number of displaced people or the costs associated with the damage to buildings as vehicles, loss of business, extra pressure on emergency services, court appearances and more is currently impossible to pin down with great accuracy.

This article tries to provide as much information as it can. Many of these details rely on contemporaneous media reports, rather than analytical assessments made long after events have happened, because for now these are the best available sources of information.

At FactCheckNI our general process aims to use best available evidence and data sources where possible. However, there is currently no full audit of the consequences of the recent disorder, no proper assessment of the resulting people movement has taken place, and if any people or families are planning to move in future they may not have done so as yet.

So, for now, information on this matter is unclear. There is of course a chance that more and better data emerges over time. For more details on what is currently available, read on.

• Source

FactCheckNI was unable to find a way to contact Dee Dee directly so has been unable to ask him where he got his information.

• Migrants, refugees, ethnicity

The post conflates migrants and refugees. Not all migrants are refugees.

A 2025 NI Assembly research report on international migration found that 3.4% of Northern Ireland’s population – 65,600 people – are from a minority ethnic group. This figure is based on ethnicity rather than migration status and includes both migrants to NI and UK-born members of minority ethnic communities.

Of course, not all refugees – or, similarly, all migrants – are non-white. For instance, NI is home to many people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine (where the majority of the population are white).

A recent FactCheckNI article looked at the latest official data on refugee numbers in NI and found that 5,019 people currently live here under protected immigration – including 2,260 people here under the Homes for Ukraine initiative, 380 under dedicated Afghan Resettlement and a further 2,379 under normal supported asylum.

The vast majority of other people living in NI but not born in the UK or Ireland, are workers and students, family members of British citizens, settled migrants and resettled EU nationals. All of them are migrants but not refugees.

• Facts, figures, reports and rumours

There is very little data around the number of people who have left NI following the disorder.

Anaka Women’s Collective, a community organisation that works with migrant women, told the Irish News that it estimated around 200 people were evacuated from their homes during the riots.

The same estimate was also made in a post on social media by Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR) a human rights group directly involved in helping those affected.

On 15 June, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons told the Northern Ireland Assembly:

“[By] 5.00 pm on Sunday 14 June, 86 households had presented to the Housing Executive citing civil unrest, and 26 of those were requests for temporary accommodation. As a result of contact with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, those figures include 16 households being supported by Participation and the Practice of Rights and an additional 37 households being supported by other organisations.”

On top of this, the Northern Ireland Assembly also heard various other statements from MLAs in relation to this disorder:

• Again on 15 June, Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan suggested several healthcare workers had been targeted, a point repeated by Daniel McCrossan of the SDLP.
• The same day, UUP MLA Steve Aiken said he had spoken with people subjected to violence in Ballyclare and that “many victims of the attacks whom we visited were British citizens.”
• A day later, Sinn Féin’s Pat Sheehan indicated that some ethnic-minority children “are frightened to travel, anxious about attending school and worried that they may be targeted because of whom they are … when many pupils are sitting GCSE and A-Level examinations, that fear and uncertainty can have a very real impact on their education and well-being.” The same MLA also asked questions of the Education Minister to check what help is being provided to impacted pupils (see here and here).

The 200+ who fled their homes includes people who are in NI on skilled work visas and students – i.e. not all of those who are displaced were refugees.

But, when considering any displaced people, it is currently unclear how many of these people have actually left Northern Ireland.

Some people have told there individual stories: for example, a Nigerian nurse and an Indian finance associate and retail manager. The Polish news outlet TVP World reported that at least 41 Romanian nationals sought consular assistance.

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said that international workers made up 85% of the workforce of some care homes and that he had been told some were “wondering whether it’s worth their while staying in Northern Ireland because of the fear.”

Ultimately ‘leaving’ can cover a spectrum: from temporary local displacement to permanent departure from the UK.

• Other examples

While we have been unable to find verified evidence of asylum seekers leaving NI – and certainly not 400 families – there is a precedent in NI for an exodus of ethnic groups after targeted racial violence.

Following the Ballymena riots in 2025, which targeted Roma EU migrants, the Guardian reported that a source close to the community estimated the pre-riot Roma population of 1,200 “two-thirds are gone – or, to use a loaded term, ethnically cleansed.”

It should be noted that, as with many of the other details in this article, this figure comes from a single and (in this case) anonymous source. It is not an official count. FactCheckNI generally avoids relying on anonymous sources, favouring publicly available sources of information and data.

And, once again, “leaving” can mean different things. According to Australia’s ABC News, one Bulgarian Roma worker who fled Ballymena is now living in a town one hour away.

In every example we could verify, the people leaving or considering leaving were workers, students, or EU nationals – not refugees, the subject of the Facebook post.

• Displacement

Protected immigrants are in some ways much more tied to the UK than other arrivals. If those here under protection leave the UK their claim may be withdrawn (see here and here) which acts as a legal incentive to stay.

Asylum seekers cannot choose where they live; they are not routed between GB and NI upon dispersal. And many asylum seekers previously displaced from their homes in NI have simply found themselves reallocated housing in another part of NI.

• Conclusions

While racial violence can undoubtedly cause the people targeted to leave an area, we could not find widespread evidence of departure after the June 2026 riots.

We found some examples of potential EU migrant departure, but no asylum seekers. We found evidence of internal displacement within NI. But we could not find recorded evidence of anything approaching the departure of 400 migrant families from NI or the UK.

Of course, if anyone is planning to leave that process may still be in motion. The disorder in question is so recent that it is basically impossible to put firm numbers on the amount of people who have been displaced or the number of refugee or migrant individuals or families who might leave Northern Ireland as a result.

A much clearer picture – with better and more comprehensive information – may emerge over time. NISRA’s Long Term International Migration statistics estimate the inflow and outflow in Northern Ireland. The most recent figures for 2024 were published in February this year.