Irish undocumented in New York hopeful that Barack Obama will deliver on immigration reform

saraindc, agree with your observations. President Obama has a lot on his plate right now and he needs to address problems facing americans FIRST.I do believe he will address the issue of immigration reform, but this will probably be towards the end of his second term. Getting americans back to work should be his first priority. When unemployment is well below 5%, he can approach this problem.

reality is they're not going to get it any easier. undocumented are going to be forced to leave the country and go through the legal process. its not a simple matter of go from being illegal to legal - it doesnt work like that - it will be the same issue for the irish - if you want to become legal (and that does not mean you can get a greencard as your illegal years wont count), you're likely going to have to a) declare yourself illegal b) go home to follow the documented route which means your job could be gone and you wont get a visa to just live here, you'll need a sponsor to get documented (h1B) type - i can't imagine they'll just hand out a ton of visa for people broke the rules - it wont work like that - everyone who followed the rules and did it right will protest and those unemployed americans will block it! Follow the rules or dont complain about it or expect special treatment!!