Thread: Irish make their presence felt in illegal immigration fight

Irish make their presence felt in fight over illegal immigration
150 from Bay Area to rally in D.C. for legalization efforts

By Tyche Hendricks
The San Francisco Chronicle, February 9, 2007


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... O1K5D1.DTL

Irish immigrants and Irish Americans in the Bay Area are mobilizing for another round of activism in the debate over illegal immigration.

About 1,500 people turned out for an immigration reform rally in San Francisco last week, and 150 plan to head to Washington, D.C., next month to join a protest with the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, a national group working to legalize undocumented immigrants.

Elaine, a San Francisco nanny who wouldn't give her last name because she lacks legal immigration status, plans to leave her 6-year-old son with her sister and fly to the nation's capital to join the call for comprehensive immigration reform on March 7.

She said she feels a sense of commonality with illegal immigrants from Mexico, who make up the majority of the estimated 12 million people living in the United States illegally.

'We're all in the same boat,' she said. 'The Irish are lucky because we speak English and we're white: We do get treated better. But we (undocumented immigrants) are all hard workers. We all want a better life.'

Though the Irish are only a small slice of the country's illegal immigrant population, their outspoken activism has added another dimension to the public perception of illegal immigrants, said Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum in Washington.

'They came last year with these white T-shirts that said 'Legalize the Irish,' and people kind of stopped and paused and looked twice at them on Capitol Hill,' she said. 'There's a substantial Asian population, a substantial Irish population; it's not just a Latino issue. They serve as a helpful reminder of how multifaceted the debate is. '

The Irish have a lot in common with other immigrant groups in America, said Margaret McPeake, co-director of the Irish Studies Program at New College of California in San Francisco. Irish Americans have a sense of their deep roots in the United States, combined with a sympathy for the difficult economic and political realities in Ireland that spurred the last big wave of immigration in the 1980s, she said.

'That understanding makes people willing to band together and see the Irish experience as part of a larger immigrant story,' said McPeake.

Celine Kennelly, director of San Francisco's Irish Immigration Pastoral Center, estimates that 50,000 of the country's 150,000 Irish-born residents are illegal, with many thousands of them in the Bay Area. Most of them entered the country on a legitimate student, work or tourist visa and stayed after it expired.

'The immigration system absolutely needs to be fixed,' said Kennelly. The undocumented Irish 'have employed people, they've paid taxes, they've contributed favorably to society, they've tried every visa option and entered the 'green card' lottery every year. But it's becoming impossible to live here without a Social Security number and a driver's license. It's a pressured situation.'

Elaine said she wants to become a legal permanent U.S. resident so she can build a stable life in her adopted city without fear of being picked up by immigration authorities. She also wants the laws to change so she take her son back to his homeland so he can stay connected to his grandparents and his Irish heritage.

'If everyone's quiet, nothing will happen,' said Elaine. 'I might as well speak out and feel like I've done something.'

Kennelly said she's hopeful that, with Congress now in Democratic hands, it will pass an immigration bill this year that includes a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and more legal avenues for foreign citizens to work in the United States.

'We're going to keep knocking on doors and letting people know this is a huge Irish issue,' she said. 'We need to have it addressed in a timely and proper manner.'

sorry illegal is illegal, you need to go home and come in the legal way,. They need to be able to track the people who come here to go to school and make sure they go home after or give them a green card to stay, illegal just is not good for anyone, even the person doing it, it has to stop.

The undocumented Irish 'have employed people, they've paid taxes, they've contributed favorably to society, ...

It has been said that the potential for economic gain is a key motivation in the commission of approx. 80%-85% of all crime.
Heck, many convicted felons could make the same claim (as in above)! So what?

... But it's becoming impossible to live here without a Social Security number and a driver's license. It's a pressured situation.'

Bingo! We have a winner. Be here legally or don't be here at all.

Celine Kennelly, director of San Francisco's Irish Immigration Pastoral Center, estimates that 50,000 of the country's 150,000 Irish-born residents are illegal, with many thousands of them in the Bay Area. Most of them entered the country on a legitimate student, work or tourist visa and stayed after it expired.

Then these Irish, too, are dishonorable violators. They should not break the law just because they feel like it. Paying taxes while you are here does not entitle you to citizenship. It is simply a requirement of being employed in the U.S. if you want to put food on the table and a roof over your head.

All visas in this country should be examined for delinquency with orders to appear in court and stiff penalties for those with expired papers. Better yet the U.S. should stop issuing so many visas at the drop of a hat.

ICE needs to go in and hunt these admitted law-breakers down and arrest their inconspicuous Irish butts!

So, they used their skin color to sort of blend in it sounds like. What a bunch garbage.

There ya go ICE, prove we do not discriminate, arrest them and send them back to the Emerald Isle.

I am beginning to think we have Illegal Aliens from most countries.
It certainly makes me sad that a group of undocumented Irish have joined the Pro Illegals. Pushing for a free ride just like all the rest of them.

My Grandparents came from Ireland when my father was a baby. They came the right way, applied for and received citizenship after a length of time when they studied English and passed the citizenship exam.

There were NO Exceptions made by printing all the documents in their native language.
No Food stamps
No free medical care
The Government sure didn't cater to them.

They were so grateful to be in America that it never would have occured to them to demand anything from this country.
They made it on their own, assimilated and were proud, hard working poor people
My father joined the US Navy when he was 17, fought during WW11 and was very proud to serve this country for 30 years.

I am greatly disappointed that some of the newer generation Irish do not have the same honesty and pride.

I don't care what nationality she is, she's illegal, in my book she's not welcome here. As far as I'm concerned she's not welcome here even if our stupid government does make her legal.

I've tried putting myself in the shoes of the illegals. Some of them may have good reason for sneaking in. However I have no respect and never will respect any illegal who demands we make them legal. Regardless of why she's illegal, demanding we make right, her wrong, makes me think of doing things God wouldn't approve of.

This is really nuts. Many Eastern Europeans are in Ireland illegally. Then we have Irish illegally here in the US! Send the illegal Irish back, then let them complain about the illegal Eastern Europeans in Ireland!

What is really sickening is if you go to their website, you see many of our US Senators grovelling to legalize them and thus get their vote!!

My ancestors were from Ireland and England but they came legally fought and died in several US wars for our country. I don't respect anyone who comes here illegally. Any foreign national that breaks the law coming here should be deported end of story.