Irish in New York react cautiously to new visa bill

Bill is said to only fix part of the problem

MOLLY MULDOON,

Irish Voice Reporter

Published Thursday, December 22, 2011, 7:09 AM

Updated Thursday, December 22, 2011, 7:09 AM

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The young woman, originally from the west of Ireland, says she is not overly optimistic about the passage of the bill that could help illegal Irish in the U.S.

“There is only a limited amount of visas that can be granted and the amount of undocumented like myself out here is nearly three, if not four times that,” she added.

In the Aisling Irish Community Center on McLean Avenue in Yonkers, Orla Kelleher reports the news of the bill has prompted discussion, both at home and abroad.

“This is the greatest hope of people being able to emigrate here legally from Ireland,” Kelleher, the executive director of the center, told the Irish Voice.

“We have got quite a few emails from people who skipped the small print and wanted to know what they could do to get first in line, once the bill is passed.”

The uncertainty that lays ahead for the passage of the legislation means that the undocumented Irish here are remaining levelheaded.

“Those who were already living here undocumented were more cautious. Year after year their hopes have been dashed,” she said.

“We are looking for whatever small print may be there to exclude the undocumented.”

Over the past 12 months, Kelleher says the Aisling Center has witnessed a surge in Irish emigrants arriving in New York.

“It’s a constant flow now, whereas two or three years ago it was a trickle,” she said. “The age range goes from 18 to one 57-year old man.”

Based on research conducted by the Aisling Center, this year, the highest percentage of emigrants arriving in New York came from Mayo and Dublin.

“Based on our statistics from this past year, the only two counties not represented are Carlow and Wicklow,” she revealed.

“The majority were employed or in college, just before emigrating.”

Whatever happens regarding the progress of the immigration bill in 2012, Kelleher says the Aisling Center has one important message.

“We would always encourage people not to overstay,” she said. “It’s one of our biggest messages.”

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Curitiba | Jan 14, 2012, 07:27 PM EST

If they are illegal or undocumented or whatever you want to call it, deport them. Why should they go ahead of people who have applied correctly, paid visa fees and waited patiently to be let into the country? If you legalise them, what is the point of having immigration control if you can simply bypass the system by saying "I'm an illegal, so I must be a victim. Therefore I need special treatment". If you haven't got a visa, stay at home.

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joycean | Dec 23, 2011, 09:48 AM EST

George is correct. These people are breaking our laws by being here. We should NOT try to sugarcoat their behavior. Nor is there anything wrong with inventing new words or changing usage. Irish ILLEGALS asre not undocumented. They came into the country with documents, but their documents are out-of-date, illegal. Illegal Irish immigrants are not "economic refugees"; there is no famine in Ireland. They are no worse off than other Europeans. But we aren't seeing illegal British, French, Germans coming here and overstaying visas. This is Ireland's traditional way of dealing with bad economic times. It is time the Irish learned to abide by laws.

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sirpeter | Dec 22, 2011, 10:43 PM EST

Georgie Boy you're parents did their best.Leave the anger go.I'll help ya.Repeat after me three times.All people no matter how I perceive them to be deserve my respect unless they act like I do.

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GeorgeDillon | Dec 22, 2011, 02:08 PM EST

eiriamach, despite your long boring paragraphs of nonsense, these people HAVE broken US immigration law. When you come into this country as a tourist you are given a date by which to leave. Violate that, and you are a law breaker. Adhere to the dateline, and you have respected our country and are welcome to return again some time. You, eiriamach apart from being a senseless racist, appear to condone law breaking by foreigners. Do you consort with criminals in other matters?

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eiriamach | Dec 22, 2011, 11:32 AM EST

This article uses the word "undocumented" carefully. I wonder whether Ms Muldoon read the article by H. Samy Alim in the NY Times, Dec. 21: "What If We Occupied Language?" Alim calls on us to "support the campaign to stop the media from using the word 'illegal' to refer to 'undocumented' immigrants.... [O]nly inanimate objects and actions are labeled 'illegal' in English; therefore the use of 'illegals' to refer to human beings is dehumanizing. The New York Times style book currently asks writers to avoid terms like 'illegal alien' and 'undocumented,' but says nothing about 'illegals.' Yet The Times’ standards editor, Philip B. Corbett, did recently weigh in on this, saying that the term 'illegals' has an 'unnecessarily pejorative tone' and that 'it’s wise to steer clear.'" We are more likely to deal with undocumented immigrant workers in a humane way if we do not label them law breakers before we even begin. Perhaps they are a better fit for the category of "refugees" (economic refugees). Just as political refugees flee from oppressive governments, economic refugees flee from the threat of extreme poverty at home. To label them law breakers ("illegals") sets them up as targets of bigotry, harassment and hate crimes. And far-right tea partiers scapegoat them for our own economic crisis, a crisis caused by the greed of mega-corporation CEOs and congressional flunkies for the wealthy, not by immigrants. If we describe them as "undocumented workers," we are more likely to "do the right thing for the Irish,” as Dubliner Clare put it.

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