Irish American Community Leaders Push for New Immig. Bill

[Texas2step]

Irish American community leaders push for new immigration bill

By CAHIR O'DOHERTY, Irish Voice Reporter

Published Wednesday, January 13, 2010, 7:08 AM
Updated Wednesday, January 13, 2010, 7:45 AM

Irish community leaders are being asked to give their support to the push for a comprehensive new immigration bill. The White House recently sent out invitations to Irish American community leaders nationwide to attend a special briefing on comprehensive immigration reform this week.

Obama administration officials will host the briefing on Friday January 15 in Washington where the Irish American attendees will hear from the National Security Council on US-Irish Relations. Also scheduled is a briefing from the Domestic Policy Council on immigration reform.

Stella O’Leary, president of Irish American Democrats, told the Voice: “The White House has had a very good response to the invitations they sent out from the representative Irish groups from across the United States. I’m sure they’ll get a great deal of input on the concerns of Irish America on all the issues including immigration, Northern Ireland, the economy, and I think things are shaping up very well.

The administrations objective is to secure Irish political strength to help the forthcoming immigration reform bill through Congress when President Obama is ready to submit it, which sources say will be shortly.

“The Irish have a lot of political clout on the east and west coasts and I think they’ll be enormously helpful to the president in steering the bill and getting the kind of support it needs from both parties. The activists on the Irish side like Kieran Staunton, the vice-chairman of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, are acting very diligently with both Republicans and Democrats. They’re working very hard to have the legislation passed.â€

[vortex]

When will American-Americans get an invitation to discuss immigration? The year 2029, perhaps?

[misterbill]

In very recent history--- Ireland was rolling in prosperity. They had more jobs being created than people with the skills to fill them. Where were they then asking for immigration reform??? Now Ireland is suffering the same fate of many countries in this major economic slump and they want to join the other vultures to pick on the bones of the great American tiger.
Well , the tiger is not great anymore. We have dispersed our troops around the world to fight other folks battles. While our boys and girls watch their lifeblood seep into the sands of foreign countries, Immigrants, legal and illegal come to the weakened America to take the jobs they once held. There is a law that employers must restore the jobs to those who serve. It is an easy trick to change companies, hire low income newcomers. legal and illegal and then there will be no jobs for our troops when they come home. Meantime our major corporations are shipping manufacturing overseas for the lower wages and depleting the job market even more. What will there be for our troops to come home to???

Is this how our government rewards those who might make the greatest sacrifice for us??? This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It is a government issue. It has been made worse by the incompetents in power at this time, but it still is killing our country. I bear no bad will to any person because of their nationality or racial membership, but I do want our American folks to have all that America can offer before anyone else in the world gets it.

So, Mister Irishman, keep your boyos and lassies at home. The rest of you, you should be forced to wait until America fixes her problems for Americans first. Then we will evaluate the state of this wonderful union to determine how we will manage our country in the future.

[miguelina]

About 10 years ago I had a client of Irish parentage who quit her job at a bank here to work in Ireland. She had been headhunted for the Irish job. Ireland at that time was looking for workers who had documented Irish heritage to emigrate to Ireland to work in certain fields. Hers was banking and she had to jump thru hoops getting her geneology chart done, medical and background checks, etc. It was an "Only Irish Need Apply" job market.

I have no problem with that, as they are a country and can do whatever they want there. Just don't come demanding anything from us!

If you are here illegally, GET OUT!!!