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Yonkers mayor wants illegal citizens out of the shadows
By ERNIE GARCIA
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: March 17, 2006)


YONKERS — Mayor Phil Amicone declared his support for giving illegal immigrants a pathway to legalization at a St. Patrick's Day event for an Irish dignitary.

Amicone expressed his sympathy for Irish and Hispanic illegal immigrants during a City Hall reception yesterday for John Perry, a member of the Irish Parliament who is visiting the New York area to advocate on behalf of illegal Irish immigrants and to participate in St. Patrick's Day festivities.

Perry, a member of the Fine Gael party in Ireland, visited Yonkers as the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approached a compromise yesterday on an immigration reform bill under which illegal immigrants could stay in the United States. The committee will reconvene March 27 to continue work on the legislation, which could allow illegal immigrants to obtain a six-year visa and pay a $1,000 fine. After six years, those immigrants who pay back taxes, learn English and pay an additional $1,000 could apply for permanent residency.

"It would make huge economic sense," Perry said before news of the Senate deal emerged yesterday. "All the illegal Irish I've met here are quite proud to feel American."

Amicone said illegal immigrants should given the opportunity to pay taxes and come out of the shadows.

"My grandfather came over from Italy legally, but I know many came as illegal immigrants and they integrated into the fabric of the United States," Amicone said.

According to the 2000 census, about 25,241 people in Yonkers, or 12.9 percent of the city's residents, claim Irish ancestry. There are no reliable statistics on the number of illegal immigrants in Yonkers, but Amicone acknowledged yesterday that there could be thousands.

Perry's visit to Yonkers also came the same week that the locally based Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform announced that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will visit the city March 31 to discuss immigration reform. McCain's office confirmed the visit yesterday.

Late last year, the House of Representatives passed its own immigration reform act that offered no pathway to legalization and instead would make illegal presence in the United States a felony. Any final immigration reform would have to reconcile the House and Senate bills.

Kelly Fincham, the Irish Lobby's executive director, said her group has not picked a site for the McCain visit nor did she expect to see definitive immigration reform before the event.

The Irish Lobby estimates there are 40,000 illegal Irish immigrants in the United States.

As part of the group's lobbying, which is funded by the Irish government, Fincham will have a St. Patrick's Day breakfast today at O'Neill's in midtown Manhattan with Irish actor Gabriel Byrne.

"We're holding a national Legalize the Irish Day," Fincham said. "Our motto is green cards, not green beer."