Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin: No visa remedy in sight

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Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin

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Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin, who was in New York for nine days on a ministerial visit, told reporters last Wednesday that there is currently no visa solution available for the Irish undocumented in the U.S.

Martin, who attended a number of high profile meetings at the United Nations, including co-chairing a meeting with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on global hunger, said initially a bilateral approach was discussed with the State Department, including an E3 visa (a potential path to citizenship for qualified undocumented) but “the Hispanic groups made it clear they did not want a unilateral approach for any one group and said they would resist our efforts on the E3 pending comprehensive reform on the situation,” he said.

“I’ve done a number of rounds on the Hill and met with people on both sides of the aisle, but it’s very clear to me that the political situation has not become easier in terms of facilitating comprehensive immigration reform.”

He added, “Now we need to see after November what the political prospects are, and in that context we need to see if there is further work we can do on the bilateral side because I’m very anxious that we avoid a new generation of illegals coming in because it brings heartache, trauma and great difficulty.”

Martin said the obligation of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs is “first and foremost to tell the truth” to people considering a move to the U.S. without a visa.

He added, “We are working well with the State Department now and we will review the 12-month (Irish-U.S. exchange) visa shortly to see if we can enhance and refine it.”

When asked if there is a high number of young Irish people leaving Ireland for U.S. shores, Martin said there is  “no evidence” that migration to the U.S. is “anywhere near the 1980s.”

“Our belief is that we need to be unequivocal and very clear to the young people -- don’t come if your visa situation is not sorted, and don’t breach any sort of laws because there is a lifetime punishment for doing so.”

On the one-year Irish-U.S. exchange visas put in place two years ago, Martin one of the reasons he opted for the agreement is because “I was anxious to develop bilateral frameworks that were legal and gave people genuine opportunities if they wanted to explore other jurisdictions.”  Out of thousands of visas available, though, only several hundred have taken up the offer thus far.

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