newstracker: time bought for northern ireland native
Friday, April 17, 2009
NorthJersey.com
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What's new: A Wallington man has won another round in his fight against deportation to his native Northern Ireland.

The Department of Homeland Security has put a hold on deporting Malachy McAllister, 51, until March 2010 while the agency reviews his immigration case, said a spokesman for Sen. Robert Menendez, Afshin Mohamad.

DHS has sought to deport McAllister for his involvement in a 1981 wounding of a Royal Ulster constabulary officer in Northern Ireland.

Menendez, long a vocal supporter of the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland, last year introduced a private bill seeking permanent U.S. residency for McAllister.

"I've never introduced a private bill for anyone," Menendez, a Democrat, said. "I felt his situation was so compelling. He has an American family, he's been an exemplary citizen in this country. They're all compelling reasons for him to stay here."

McAllister said Thursday that he was glad that DHS is taking a second look at his case.

"DHS sees the merits of the case," said McAllister, who said he'd most like to see things work out for the sake of his two children, who were born in Northern Ireland and whose fate is tied to his. "The question is why do we have to go through this when we've been here all these years?"

Background: McAllister, who served prison time in Northern Ireland for acting as a lookout in the shooting of the constabulary officer, has argued that it occurred during a civil war between Protestants, who generally favored British rule, and Catholics, who wanted the province to unite with the Republic of Ireland.

McAllister and his family fled Belfast in 1988 after Protestant loyalists fired 26 rounds into his home. He came to the United States in 1996 from Canada, which denied his political asylum request. He has said he fears persecution if forced to return to Northern Ireland.

Menendez's bill never made it out of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, but it gave McAllister a reprieve from deportation until last month.

What's next: DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has ordered reviews of the way the agency has handled a variety of matters, including deportation issues.

McAllister's supporters have expressed hope that McAllister's case – one of about a dozen nationwide involving Northern Ireland nationals – will benefit from any DHS overhaul.

"I'm hoping to write the last chapter of this story with a happy ending," Menendez said, "so that he can move on without the constant concern that at some point he'll have to go back to Ireland."

— Elizabeth Llorente

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