For many years Ireland has lobbied the US Congress to pass new legislation that would enable thousands of Irish people who are currently living undocumented in the US to legalise their status.
The latest attempt to influence US legislators on this issue was made recently by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, which believes that such reform would greatly benefit people on both sides of the issue. This is in addition to a proposed new E3 Visa that would allow some 10,500 Irish people to work legally in the United States every year.
Committee member and Fianna Fáil Senator Mark Daly argues that since many of the illegal Irish immigrants in the US are integrated in their communities, they should be given the chance to legalise their status in the country.
“They have houses here, they have children who are going to school here, and yet they’re undocumented and therefore liable to deportation at any stage,” he said. “There [are] Irish citizens every day of the week being picked up in Boston, in New York, in Chicago and spending six weeks in jail before eventually being sent back to Ireland, so we’re trying to stop that.”
Metro Éireann certainly commends the committee for their efforts to find a lasting solution for the undocumented Irish in the US. But at the same time, we should not forget the thousands of undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers in Ireland who are facing the same issues.
We urge the Government to use this opportunity to resolve Ireland’s own immigration problems, even if only to set the right example.
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