Lobby group for undocumented Irish gets €38k boost

[quaoar]

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=182855412&p=y8z856yy8

The Government is to give an additional $50,000 (€38,997) to an influential lobby group working to ensure undocumented Irish can stay in the US, it emerged today.

The money will go to the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform to help with its work in securing a path to permanency for the 30,000 or so illegal Irish living in America.

Dermot Ahern, Foreign Affairs Minister, announced the cash boost after a meeting with the ILIR president Grant Lally in Dundalk.

The next fortnight could prove crucial in delivering legislation which might provide a solution for the tens of thousands of undocumented Irish living and working in the US, some of whom have not returned home for several years.

[sadiesworld]

1. Maybe US citizens need a lobby group.

[Kagemusha]

2. They're called political parties.

nt

[sadiesworld]

4. Well, it ain't workin' for shit, IMHO.

[Howardx]

3. WE MUST STOP THE IRISH INVASION

they have a nefarious plot to turn the us into iretzlan! we should build a wall or something

[LostinVA]

5. Damn Illegals! Waving their flag on March 17

Calling American beet insipid and weak (well, that's true)!

[Howardx]

6. i fully expect the anti immigrant crowd to be all over this

i mean hey these irish guys broke the law, they should be deported right? im sure the fact that they arent brown wont matter:sarcasm:

[LostinVA]

22. I know, why look at all the threads about this in GD... errr.... ummm....

[Gormy Cuss]

7. Beet?

:shrug: I've never met an Irishman who was enamored of that root vegetable.

On edit: :beer:

[Solo_in_MD]

8. Don't blame me, I wore orange that day

[LostinVA]

21. OH.MY.GOD.

[Solo_in_MD]

47. Well I'm glad *someone* understood what I meant by that

and no I did not wear orange. However, as a Scot (the reason I chose tartan for my avatar), it might be tempting.

[Solo_in_MD]

9. Either that or start a potatoe blight in this country

Clearly sarcasm...after all most of McDonalds profits come from fries and soda

[Sanity Claws]

45. Dan Quayle caused you permanent harm!

Potato is the correct spelling. Potatoe is the Quayle spelling.
Perhaps you should sue Quayle for messing with your mind.

[Solo_in_MD]

46. I was wondering if anyone was going to get that

I was beginning to think it was too subtle...

[anotherdrew]

38. well they do seem to be more than able to catch and deport these aliens

wonder why? they don't give cheap labor?

[libpunkmom]

10. Where are all the post

bitching about this group being here? As a brown skinned American, I find the lack of post very telling.

[TriMetFan]

11. You are so right my friend.

Where are all those anti-illegally post????? And the sick part this group has a lobbing group doing their work for them.

[Howardx]

16. notice the irish are "undocumented"

not illegal like the brown people

[TriMetFan]

17. or illegal aliens

yep I guess because they are Irish they get the "undocumented" label.

[LostinVA]

24. I did notice that -- "Illegals" is used on purpose

To dehumanize the undocumented Hispanic workers.

[LostinVA]

23. I'm a white-skinned American with some of that Illegal Irish blood

in me... and this proves what I've known all along: most of this "anti-Illegals" mess, even here on DU, is more than a bit xenophobic and racists -- whether people are aware of it or not.

[sadiesworld]

30. 30,000 vs. 12-20,000,000

I could have something to do with the numbers.

[LostinVA]

34. That should make NO difference

Why, even one Illegal is too many! Breaking our laws, taking jobs from US workers! All of the good, patriotic REAL Americans wanting to be bartenders at pubs in NYC... and not able to!

Why should the numbers make a difference? It shouldn't. If the numbers make a difference, then that just shows that person IS racist... because these people (including many on DU) say the law is the law. Since I don't see 50 screaming threads about this topic, it appears my instinct is right...

[sadiesworld]

37. Of course numbers make a difference.

When the wages in entire industries are impacted and hospitals are closing their doors, numbers matter. If people were all that upset about race why aren't they more pissed off at black Africans who overstay their visas? They aren't AS upset about black Africans or the Irish, b/c the numbers are relatively small and the impact is negligible. I think most (DUers, at least) would maintain that ANY illegal immigrant is just that, but numbers DO matter.

For example, I don't think the millionnaires in this country should get any tax decreases but the amount of any decrease matters greatly. NUMBERS MATTER.

If you can't see the sense in what I'm saying, there really is no point in continuing this conversation.

[LostinVA]

44. Nope, the law is the law!

[Gormy Cuss]

40. Scale does make a difference.

We have had, and probably always will have, a certain amount of illegal immigration as long as we have regulations on immigration. When it's a hush-hush relatively small number of people who are living in the shadows most people either don't notice or don't care because the perceived impact is tiny. That's the way it was 30 or 40 years ago when the Irish were working on the painting and carpentry crews, the Chinese were working in the garment factories, and the Mexicans were working the fields and ranches of the West.

We have a wholly out of control level of illegal immigration and have had for decades. I'm not naive about the 'brown skin' xenophobia that drives some of the opposition but even without the racist aspect, large scale illegal immigration supports the growth of an underclass of people who are ripe for exploitation by sleazy employers. They can't participate in the democratic process through voting.
Having millions of workers who are kept below the prevailing wage and benefit level is good for business. "Hard-working immigrants" is just code for people who will work for less money and with less fuss about safety and overtime rules because they have no choice.

There is altogether too much emphasis on the racist motive in discussion threads here and a tendency to discount any discussion of the experiences of the Irish or other white illegal immigrants because it doesn't fit in the easy explanation that it's all about racism. I've know quite a few Irish illegal aliens too, and they were always aware of the limits their status placed on them here. Most had under the table or day labor jobs and were careful to keep their names out of phonebooks and directories and kept a very low profile. Sometimes they'd just up and disappear because of rumors of an INS crackdown. Far too many of them had their lives on hold for decades. They'd get a letter from home saying that someone was sick or dying and they knew that even if they got together the money for the plane fare they would risk being shut out of their lives in the states. It's a shitty way to live.

Any 'solution' to the current situation will affect the Euro, Asian, and African illegal immigrants too. They just aren't as numerous as the Latinos. I doubt that the racists who are afraid of brown skinned people are that fond of the idea of welcoming more Asians or Africans either.

[treestar]

41. If it's so out of control, it could represent a mass migration

Like the one from Ireland to the US in the late nineteenth century.

Then trying to "control" it by keeping the individuals out takes on a certain insanity.

Just register the individuals. If security were the real concern, that's what they'd want. Make it possible for them to go back and forth legally. It's a neighboring, bordering country, for crying out loud. We can have more liberal laws for Mex/Can than for the rest of the world and it would be perfectly logical.

And our laws need to be more reasonable and consistently enforced.

We have a set of outdated, technically oriented restrictive laws that are not even to our own best interests. And the new bill will just complicate them further. In fact they are already so complex the code is starting to contradict itself. Irresponsible congress after congress has "reformed" and "reformed" without regard to what is already there to the point where they don't always make sense and no one knows how they will be enforced or how any two provisions will be read together.

[Gormy Cuss]

43. I agree, immigration quotas are part of the problem

but failing to address that is one of the ways illegal immigration has been supported. If Latin American represents the best source of new immigrants and we would benefit from the increased workforce, we should reflect that in our laws. I also agree that the 'reforms' being proposed don't address the issue appropriately, they simply shift the focus.

I would like to reduce the rate of illegal immigration because I come from a pro-worker mindset. For workers there is no advantage to sustaining a large illegal immigration. None. Only investors and owners benefit.

The administration isn't interested in stopping illegal immigration. They are using it as an excuse to increase fear of terrorism and to convince Americans to give up liberty for security. Xenophobia and racism are just handy tools for that argument.

I don't see any simple solution, but one that gets too little attention is that if Mexico had a better economy there would be less incentive for its residents to risk coming here illegally. Using everyone's favorite comparison group on this issue as an example, one of the reasons that there are so few illegal Irish immigrants in the US these days is that there are opportunities at home for them. Any solution I think must focus on improving the economic conditions in Mexico and other Latin American countries so that people can choose to stay in their birthplaces or choose to immigrate, rather than feel that they have no choice.

[treestar]

27. Strange, since Ireland is getting immigrants rather than emigrants

for the first time in centuries. Many of the more recent legal Irish immigrants to the US had been returning.

Their economy is going well.

[BooScout]

12. Why the hell the Irish government is giving money for this is a mystery...

...and a waste of Irish tax dollars. If they are in the States illegally then their ass needs to be kicked to the curb. Illegal is illegal. There ain't no shortage of jobs in Ireland.

[Divernan]

15. Many legal/ illegal Irish ex-pats have returned to Ireland for better jobs

Ireland is booming and many of the highly literate Irish who came to the states because of high unemployment rates in Ireland, have been able to happily return there. I too do not understand why the Irish govt. is donating for this, but I will be studying law in Dublin at the end of the month and will inquire into this, as well as the way Chief Justice and Mrs. Roberts managed to circumvent Irish adoption law by having the biological mothers of their two adopted children bring the kids to Latin America and then sign over the kids. The Irish law is that you must be resident in the country for a year before being allowed to adopt - so foreign adoption is extremely rare.

[area51]

13. The Irish can stay here...

...if I can go to Ireland so I can get employment & universal healthcare. :evilgrin:

[Solon]

14. Actually, Ireland has some of the loosest laws in regards to...

Immigration, if you are a writer or artist, you don't even need a job lined up, and the money needed for other entrepenuers doesn't apply, you can get a visa at the very least. Also, the old Grandparent law is still in effect, if you can prove they were a citizen, then you can become a citizen. Other than those options, find an Irish employer and see if they'll sponsor you to come to Ireland on a worker's visa.

[bennywhale]

18. The Irish don't even need a passport to go to Britain

and stay as long as they like and work

[Solon]

20. Same for the rest of the EU...

A citizen of Germany can work in Ireland, the same as an Irish Citizen can work in Germany.

[bennywhale]

48. You're correct, but the Irish don't even need travel

documents to enter the UK, they just hop on a ferry.

[Carni]

32. What exactly constitutes being an artist?

If you have sold your own art are you therefore an artist?

I mean do they have a juried show of your work to see if you are worthy of getting in? lol

I am not being a smart ass I am really curious!

[LostinVA]

35. No, they don't -- it's really just luck and discretion of the official

Watch "In America" -- it shows the glamorous life of an Illegal Irish family who's father is a type of artist... it is autobiographical.

[KamaAina]

19. Undocumented immigrants! Quick! Call the Minutemen!

oh, I see, they're Irish, therefore white. Never mind. :eyes:

[Bridget Burke]

25. "Illegal Irish Immigrants" is the phrase at P45.net

Found at the end of the "Are You an American" test: www.p45.net/omatics/american/american.html

(Lots of humor at the site.)

[IndianaGreen]

26. So illegal brown-skinned people not welcome, but the Irish are?

Are the angry white men that we are now seeing on TV fearful of becoming a minority and losing power and influence as the Afrikaaners did? I feel so sorry for them!

:nopity:

[saigon68]

39. They are white yes.

[Julius Civitatus]

42. They are white, so yes. Like Fox News' Gibson said "Make more babies"

and long as we are white.

Brown folk, not welcome.

[420inTN]

28. Good Grief.

A) Why is my tax money going to a group that promotes breaking American laws?
B) Throw out all illegal aliens. Thanks for visiting our country. Have a safe flight home.

[BooScout]

31. It's not your tax money.......unless you're an Irish Citizen....

The money cited in the article is coming from the Irish Government not the American Government.

[420inTN]

33. HaHa.. whoops.. my bad

I just read the text in the original post (and not the provided link) and (incorrectly) assumed that "Government" referred to the US gov't. I sit corrected. Thank you. I thought it odd for theUS gov't go give money to a group lobbying Congress. ;-)

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

29. Illegal immigrants are illegally in the U.S., regardless of where they

came from. As a point of law, in immigration an illegal alien is one who enters 'without inspection.' That is, a person who enters without being inspected by an immigration officer (inspection occurs when you get off an international flight or through a port of entry on the Canadian or Mexican border or aboard a ship, etc.).

An undocumented alien is one who entered legally, but whose permission to be here in the U.S. lapsed (expired visas are a good example; entering as a tourist and then overstaying that stay is another example).

You can be an undocumented alien from anywhere in the world, but geography limits somewhat who can be an illegal immigrant. Obviously, an Irish person would have to swim a long way to enter the U.S. without inspection. A person from Latin America or Canada has an easier way to enter without inspection.

I am an alien, by the way. I entered legally and maintained my legal status for 14 (yes fourteen!) years before I was able to obtain a 'green card' and then only because I got married to a U.S. citizen.

Immigrating legally to the U.S. is very time-consuming and expensive, and it requires that you meet specific criteria. Obviously, those who possess higher degrees or skills or extraordinary abilities are favored over those who do not.

While a temporary visa program should be instituted for the illegal/undocumented population from all over the world residing here, we should not forget to improve the legal immigration aspect of the equation. It is outrageous that it took me nearly 14 years to get a freaking green card, only because I turned 21 at the time my family was applying for one (based on my father's employment).

[LostinVA]

36. Nope -- lots of Irish come in ILLEGALLY from Canada

No Visa, nothing -- the say they are coming on vacation and stay. I know this first ahnd.

And, I consider a lapsed visa ILLEGAL. Per the 'Illegals" argument, that makes them Ilegal... they have no legal right to be in the US.

[quaoar]

49. The solution to illegal immigration is obvious

Every Mexican who wants to come here has to also bring someone from Ireland or Sweden along with him.