Thread: Undocumented Irish in the US must remain a priority, Irish Government told

Undocumented Irish in the US must remain a priority, Irish Government told




Story by Fionnuala Boyle • 1h

November 2, 2023



Undocumented Irish people in the US must remain a priority, the Irish Government has been told. Brendan Smith, Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan-Monaghan, raised the issue once more during a debate in Dáil Éireann (Parliament).

Smith told Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in the Dáil last month that all politicians in the US "from the President down to people from state legislatures and city halls," must always be mindful of the position of the undocumented. He said the best estimate available to Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs is that there are fewer than 10,000 Irish people in such a position and progress "must be made on regularizing the status of the undocumented Irish."

"The overwhelming majority of those people are working hard, paying their taxes, contributing to society but, unfortunately, they do not have the status they need," Smith said, "They do not have residency status or access to visas. I am fully conscious that it will be difficult to have comprehensive immigration reform in the present climate in the United States, but we must continue to endeavor to get a legal pathway to status for those people and for other people who wish to emigrate from our country for whatever reasons to the United States."

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The Taoiseach responded: "I think we have a really good model that other states could follow in terms of regularizing undocumented people. We have done a few schemes in this State, including one for people who arrived with student visas and subsequently lost their status. I think it is a good example for the US to follow.

"But, unfortunately, I do not think it is going to be possible for it to do so. The whole debate around migration in the US has become so polarized. I think it would be very difficult for any President or any Congress to be able to get reform through. That is a real shame but hopefully that will change at some point in the future."





The Taoiseach and Joe Biden shaking hands© Getty



In September, the Taoiseach exclusively told IrishStar.com that securing the status of undocumented Irish people living in America is a priority for the Irish government while Irish American Joe Biden is in the White House.

Varadkar said the Irish Government hopes to leverage Biden's liberal immigration stance to formalize the status of undocumented Irish people in the US. Biden is working to reverse some Trump-era restrictions on immigration.

"I know he [Biden] takes a liberal view on immigration," Mr Varadkar said. "It's hard to get changes through the Congress at the moment. But there are undocumented people here for far too long. We've done a lot of schemes at home in Ireland to deal with that and we'd like to see the US do something similar."

Mr Varadkar also said he would like to make it easier for Irish people to secure visas to live and work in the US. He said: "People want to come here for experience and visas are hard to get... I think that limits the opportunities for people. It is an area of focus and it would have been the same in my contacts with President Trump."

Biden introduced the US Citizenship Act of 2021 on his first day in office but the bill died in committee stages. In May of this year, it was reintroduced in the House by Rep Linda Sánchez. The bill was referred to the Subcommittee on the Central Intelligence Agency and the Subcommittee on the National Intelligence Enterprise in June.

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It comes as the registration for the 2025 Diversity Visa, often referred to as the 'green card lottery,' ends on November 7, 2023. The annual Diversity Visa program makes available up to 55,000 diversity immigrant visas each year to randomly selected entrants from eligible countries, including Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Eighteen people from Ireland were chosen for the DV-2024 program, a small increase from the 13 people selected for the 2023 program, according to the US Department of State.

For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here.





https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...9d473ff4&ei=35

Our laws have NO color.

I doubt that "less than 10,000" Irish are here undocumented! More lies!

Deport them with every illegal alien on our soil NO MATTER where they came from!

Take your people back!

We have a right to stop any and all immigration.

The "priority" is that they are deported along with ALL visa overstays!

It is a privilege to come here and not a right, and that "privilege" has been abused, we are sick of it. Go home!

They can work and pay their taxes back in Ireland!

We are not the dumping ground for the world.