Anti-immigrant group Numbers USA mobilizes to stop Irish visa bill

appreciated, joycean

All nations are hurting economically. I don't like it either but truly feel that we have to give precedence to those Americans who are out of work right now. It is nothing against the Irish or any other group. It's a shame that the author thought he had to bring race into all of this. Does he not know what is going on in the world or it is simply that he didn't care what he wrote.

As an Irishman I find this author of this article totally misinformed. The main question is HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN THE SHIP HOLD??? If we let all those into our country who want to come, we will be living like "rats in a cage." Where do we get the resources? Does Mr O'Dowd want every city in America to look like NY? Maybe he prefers Bangladesh?? Our country is being destroyed now by millions from Third World countries who come here to get on the welfare dole and refuse to assimulate.

Your article is totally idiotic. Why would someone that you claim wants only white immigration oppose more Irish immigrants? But since that's what you guys want, why aren't you promoting re-enactment of the 1924 national origins immigration bill?

Its great to read really well made points on here by people like Eiríamach and its equally as hillarious to have George 'The eternal Tourist' Dillon spouting his usual comedic gems! When you have no facts George, just try and insult! Its got you this far, fair play!

One more thing, NumbersUSA was founded by Roy Beck not John Tanton. You really should investigate things in a little more detail and not rely on Wikipedia as your source for some of your claims. Does any other journalist really use Wikipedia as a source?

Sorry Mr. O'Dowd but you are way off base in describing Numbers USA as an anti-immigrant group. Numbers USA is all about stopping illegal immigration and reducing the numbers of legal immigrants to a more manageable number. Why reduce legal immigration you might ask? Because we have very high unemployment in the U.S.A and we frankly do not need to import large numbers of foreign workers to compete with our native unemployed for jobs. This is the exact reason that this bill by Brown is being opposed. Just think about it this way: We have several million unemployed legal citizens. We tax payers must pay for unemployment benefits for these unlucky millions that don't have a job (to include repeated extension of unemployment benefits). We have a terrible illegal immigration problem. So what possible sense does it make for the U.S.A. to increase numbers of legal immigrants by issuing work visas. This does not help any of our own unemployed citizens who continue to be paid unemployment benefits (and want jobs). It is irresponsible for anyone in the U.S. Government to even consider such a thing as increasing the number of foreign workers and granting another amnesty to illegal immigrants. I am of Irish decent and would love to see an increase in legal European immigration, but too many previous mass amnesties for illegals and the current illegal immigration problem make this an impossible position to support. I think Ireland is a great country. Maybe they should increase the number of Americans they allow to get work visas in their country....I bet that is not going to happen. Immigration to the U.S. is not some God given right that the rest of the world seems to think they are entitled to. It is a privilege. The people that are for open borders are so out of touch with the way the rest of the world manages their immigration policies.

NumbersUSA is not "anti-immigrant," has never been accused by the SPLC of having "racist roots," and was created by Roy Beck, not John Tanton. The New York Times investigated NumbersUSA for three months last year and found no evidence of any anti-immigrant actions or words. But most importantly, as a member of NumbersUSA with Irish heritage, I must say this country has about as many immigrants as it can handle. We are in a budget deficit, our schools are going downhill much in part to being required to teach immigrant children in the same class as native born while ESL is mandated holding our citizens children back. If wanting unemployed citizens to have jobs ahead of foreign workers or illegal aliens is racist you can count me as one also.It is not about race, it's about the numbers It is quite disgraceful for O'Dowd to quote slanderous comment from an organization that represents no one in the South that I've ever met, and in fact which no one has ever heard of. Have some journalistic ethics, O'Dowd. There are currently 12.8 million unenployed people in the United States. At the current rate, it will take 12 years for this country to once again reach full employment. Those numbers stretch across all levels of education and skills. Even 10,000 Irish immigrants will make re-employment more difficult and extend the misery of 10,000 Americans. We also have a problem with our southern border which is breached everyday, bringing millions of illegal immigrants.

I am a member of Numbers/USA and support their efforts on immigration. They are not attempting to stop or add controls to Irish immigration but to stop the illegal immigration from the countries that the United Stated does not have control over. I live in an area that is probably populated with 60% illegals and no one cares the Congressional representitive from this area is a former US Border Patrol Agent and since he has become a polititian his values and responsibilities for the oath that he took no longer mean anything. The number of illegals from the South not only Mexico but other countries is unbelievable. There have even been report of Chinese comming by boat desimbarking in Mexico and sneeking across the Southeast U.S. desert where there is no wall or Border protection. Mexico would like to assist but they have a war going on. My mother entered this country legally from Ireland through Ellis Island and I still have her admission papers. I would suggest that those causing the uproar ask your neighbor if they have their documentation. Enough said. Support Numbers/USA.

I cannot imagine what GD means by the USA being "the vibrant center of world culture." Perhaps he has in mind our millions of unemployed among the 99 percent watching their dimming, flickering (because they can't afford to pay the electric bill, much less pay a museum entry fee) TV to experience the "Lifestyles of the [1 percent] Rich and Famous."

Yes, ciaradexy, Ireland and the USA are in a similar situation with regard to immigration. But your education system remains strong, while ours is worsening from empty state budgets, cutbacks, and distracted students and teachers. Economic recovery seems to be slower in Ireland than here, but your long-term outlook, once recovery takes hold, seems much better because of Ireland's careful economic/third-level education planning years ago. Free enterprise is such an irrational ideology here that the federal government cannot do any kind of central planning without huge protests and threatened shutdowns. Just look at the brouhaha over Obama's national health care plan! Which population is better off? If I were Irish and young, I'd emigrate to seek work, but I'd leave the USA in a heartbeat when I saw signs of Ireland's recovery.

As a member of NumbersUSA I can tell you that this O'dowd hit piece uses some tired old worn out arguments. What attracted me to NumbersUSA in the first place was they state on their site "No to Immigrant Bashing." The SPLC needs to clean up their own act. If wanting unemployed citizens to have jobs ahead of foreign workers or illegal aliens is racist you can count me as one also.It is not about race, it's about the numbers.I have some Irish blood in my veins, I took action on the alert this hit piece refers to.Does that make me a racist against myself?Get real and base your arguments on facts, not repeated false statements.Repeating something that is false over an over does not make it truth.

No curdexter, we're not "in a similar boat", that's utter stupidity, typical of the nonsense you post here. We Americans are not emigrating to Ireland, the Irish are trying to emigrate to the US and elsewhere! We're not looking for sweetheart deals with Irish Immigration, but you Irish are looking for favoritism to skip the line and get into the US before others who are more entitled than you! We're not a tiny country of a few million with a dying language and culture, we're about 300 million, and the vibrant center of world culture! We're a nation of immigrants, built upon the theft of lands from the native population. Ireland is not a nation of immigrants, it has had a settled population for hundreds of years, but now it is giving itself away, and cheaply, like a back-street prostitute. We can take millions more, and they'll become Americans. Your immigrants won't become Irish. Why should they?--You have nothing to offer. And finally, we're not committing ethnosuicide, you and the other dumb Irish are!

Eiríamach-''Also, less-educated Americans are unwilling to take minimum-wage, labour-intensive jobs (which many immigrants are happy to have). Given these facts, reducing mass immigration will not result in significantly better employment numbers for American workers. The American economy needs immigrants.'' Well said, now replace Americans with Irish and you'll see we are in a similar boat here.

U.S. schools are failing to teach math well enough for American graduates to compete for high-tech jobs (in which many Irish and Asians excel). Many American youth fail to qualify for, and too many flunk out of, third-level engineering, tech, and science programs. Also, less-educated Americans are unwilling to take minimum-wage, labour-intensive jobs (which many immigrants are happy to have). Given these facts, reducing mass immigration will not result in significantly better employment numbers for American workers. The American economy needs immigrants. It will continue to need them until our public school system recovers from massive failure. When immigration policy does "favor one nationality over another," it seeks needed skills taught by one nation's school system and not taught well enough in the USA.