Last Friday, one Northern Irish family welcomed President Obama’s announcement which will see his administration stop deportations and grant work permits for qualified undocumented young adults currently living in the U.S.
“I was in shock,” says Malachy McAllister, whose two youngest children, Sean Ryan, 24, and Nicole, 26, stand to benefit from the new policy.
McAllister and his family fled Belfast in 1988 after a Loyalist attack on their family home. They first traveled to Canada to seek asylum before coming to the U.S. and settling in Rutherford, New Jersey, where they still reside.
“I didn’t expect it after so many let downs,” he told the Irish Voice. “It is an immensely important move.”
“We are filling in the blanks to see what does it mean and what the next steps are.”
Both Sean Ryan and Nicole were infants when the family left Belfast after a dissident attack on their home on the Lower Ormeau Road.
“We have been in America for over 16 years,” McAllister said.
The family has been fighting a deportation order for the last decade. Last March they were granted another year’s relief from deportation after an intervention by New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, who described the McAllisters as integral members of the New Jersey community.
“They (Sean Ryan and Nicole) grew up here; they really don’t have any association with anyone from Belfast or Northern Ireland,” McAllister said. “They don’t know any other country, they have never been outside of here.”
While McAllister’s eldest son Gary is a citizen, in 2009 his second oldest son Mark James, known as Jamie to friends and family, was deported to Ireland because of a prior offense when he was a teenager. Now Sean Ryan and Nicole are hopeful they may be able to see their brother again.
“There is a possibility that they would be able to travel home to see their brother in the future,” says McAllister.
McAllister’s son Sean works alongside his father as a contractor in the city and Nicole is studying to become a nurse in Felician College. Raising the children without any status has been difficult, McAllister admits, especially after his wife Bernadette died of cancer in 2004.
“My daughter has been going to nursing school and I have been providing to try and put her through college so she can help others,” McAllister said.
“We still have issues trying to obtain simple things such as getting their driving licenses and opening bank accounts.”
To those who oppose Obama’s new policy, McAllister says the immigrants who will benefit are already contributing to American society.
“The fact is these children are here. For the most part the majority of them are working and paying taxes,” he added.
Eamonn Dornan, the family’s attorney, welcomed the move.
“Sean Ryan and Nicole meet all the criteria as set out in the latest memorandum from the Secretary of Homeland Security,” Dornan said in a statement.
“They have had a final deportation order hanging over their heads for a decade, but deporting them would have made no moral, humanitarian or economic sense."
“They had no intent to violate any immigration laws when they arrived in the U.S. as children, and they have resided here ever since. Both have graduated from high school; Nicole has since graduated with a bachelor of science in nursing, and Sean Ryan has gone into business with his father.”
Some 800,000 undocumented people are expected to benefit from the policy that will see them receive deferred action from deportation. Undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. under the age of 16 and have lived in the U.S. for more than five years can apply for relief, once they are under the age of 30.
Eligible students must currently be in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a general education development certificate, or be an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the U.S.
While McAllister acknowledges this is an important move for his children, it does little to help his plight.
“Obviously I am still in the same boat, it doesn’t solve anything for the undocumented,” reflects McAllister. “But it’s a step in the right direction.”
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.IrelandNorth | Jun 27, 2012, 06:42 AM EDT
Are Scottish Nationalists or Republicans British loyalists? Are Welsh Nationalists or Republicans British loyalists? Are English Nationalists or Republicans British loyalists? Hmmm! Are Irish Nationalists or Republicans British loyalists? Probably about as much as Oliver Cromwell was a Roman Catholic! One is loyal to a monarch, but patriotic to a country. Which is why the compromise formation of a constitutional monarchy is inherently oxymoronic.
BrianO | Jun 22, 2012, 10:23 AM EDT
Ephraim, the reference to guys in your post was half in fun and half to show how easy it is to pretend outrage, never apologize for saying what you mean, it makes people believe it's alright to control speech.
EphraimKibbey | Jun 21, 2012, 05:16 PM EDT
@BrianO - I use "guys" very loosely in coloquial speech for both genders when talking about a group of people as in "Hi guys!" I apologize for the informal usage and in future I will remember that the strict IC comment standards require that we refrain from such frivolity. I live by the banks of the Ohio so that is the closest I will get to a body of water this weekend but thanks anyway. Have a good weekend yourself and the rest of the week as well!
Bythebay | Jun 21, 2012, 03:39 PM EDT
pilib04, Loyalists refers to those in NORTHERN IRELAND who support remaining part of the United Kingdom despite 30 years of terrorism. England has no such split or divisiveness. Hence the comment there are no Loyalists in England. You've never been to England. There are several million in England with Irish ancestry. Got it now??
BrianO | Jun 21, 2012, 11:48 AM EDT
Ephraim, your logic is getting looser and looser trying to cover for your boss. Fast and Furious as used by the obama administration was an attack on the second amendment. you know those bitter clingers, or maybe typical white people, you choose. Are your polls of likely voters or are they propaganda? Convenient you who knows all the legislation has no memory of the kennedy immigration policy that closed the door on english speaking immigrants. How sexist of you to refer to congress as guys, do you hate all women or just congressional ones (threw that in for laughs). Enjoy the weekend time to hit the beach.
EphraimKibbey | Jun 21, 2012, 12:32 AM EDT
@BrianO – Sorry, I am familiar with much of JFK’s administration (though I was in High School at the time) but I am not familiar with his immigration policy or its effect on the Irish People. I do know that Reagan, Daddy Bush, Clinton and W. all issued executive orders regarding immigration. I do know what the poll that just hit the papers yesterday indicates regarding this executive order on children of illegal immigrants. 64% of all likely voters agreed with the order. 65% of independents agreed with it. 53% of likely voters said they would now vote for Obama in November (as opposed to 48% in the last pole.) It appears that the American electorate likes a man of action. They especially like it when he is fulfilling their wishes (73% approved of the real Dream Act in 2010) by going around a do nothing congress with a single digit approval rating. Only 40% (26% of independents) said they would still vote for Romney. I know that Romney seems tongue-tied on the matter. I wonder what he will say to the Hispanic group that he is scheduled to meet with later today. This may have been a stroke of sheer genius on Obama’s part. He seems to be playing Harry Truman to Romney’s Dewey. The stupid guys in congress do not get it even now. Instead of voting on the Transportation Bill and the President’s Jobs Bill which together would add 2 to 3 million jobs to our nation’s economy, they are trying to catch Holder and Obama in some imagined plot to take away my guns. I’m an avid shooter and gun collector but I am not a gun nut. The “throw bricks through their windows” and “we’re cleaning our guns” guy who started all this waste of my tax dollars needs to be arrested for inciting violence and the Bush officials who started Fast & Furious need to be hauled in before congress.
pilib04 | Jun 20, 2012, 07:44 PM EDT
Curitiba, are you kidding? There are plenty of Loyalists in London.
kerthialfad | Jun 20, 2012, 06:19 PM EDT
Did they overstay a US visa or enter from Canada illegally without inspection?
Curitiba | Jun 20, 2012, 04:38 PM EDT
Could they not have gone to London? I've met plenty of Irish there, but I have never ever met a Loyalist here. I imagine Mr McAllister would be totally safe here.
hooligan6a | Jun 20, 2012, 04:05 PM EDT
BrendanDunphy, don't care if they are Irish, Mexican, Russian, or Chinese. Let them wait in line like everyone else. We don't need any more illegals taking jobs away from Americans.
Bythebay | Jun 20, 2012, 02:47 PM EDT
This is NOT a bill, a bill is presented to the House of Representatives or the Senate and has to be passed by each, then signed into law by the President. The Congress, eg. the House of Representatives and Senate were circumvented by Obama who did an Executive Order. An Executive Order is NOT a bill or a law.
MegK311 | Jun 20, 2012, 02:43 PM EDT
I am from N.I. I came here leagally and have always abided by the laws of the U.S. I have friends who waited 7 years to come here legally. Obama has chosen this election year to allow illegal aliens to stay here. He will do anything to get votes. This is not fair to people who go through the leagal channels to come to this country. The McAllisters should get in line like everyone else.
Bythebay | Jun 20, 2012, 01:50 PM EDT
Another scenario is these people submit their documentation to Immigration and Naturalization, Obama doesn't get reelected, Romney rescinds the order and they're jailed or deported. There's a Federal prison in Alabama privately funded housing illegals awaiting their time in court.
Bythebay | Jun 20, 2012, 12:47 PM EDT
the children of illegal emigrants to the US have to APPLY for this and provide provable documentation. This is NOT an across the board approval just because someone says they qualify. No one may get approved. The McAllisters should be ashamed of themselves.
Bythebay | Jun 20, 2012, 12:45 PM EDT
50 million people are awaiting permission to LEGALLY emigrate to the US worldwide. The US gets 1 million LEGAL immigrants per year. These people should get no special treatment at all, they went there illegally and knew full well they did. Illegal aliens in the US should be deported.
BrianO | Jun 20, 2012, 12:44 PM EDT
Ephraim how did kennedy's work in immigration reform help the Irish. Second obama's move is to bolster his illegal hispanic vote as they are much greater in numbers. My fellow American citizens that went through the process to become American citizens are the ones who should be the most upset.
EphraimKibbey | Jun 20, 2012, 12:27 PM EDT
@Scrivner - It didn't happen then for the same reason that much of the legislation that Obama promised in his 2008 campaign didn't happen. The Dream Act was passed by the House of Representatives in 2010. It was taken up for a vote in the Senate later that year. A republican announced that he was filabustering it. Reid only had a 55 vote majority for it. Not the 60 votes needed to over ride the filabuster. While the filabuster was used in the past as a stalling tactic to allow the public a chance to write their senators about controversial legislation by the minority party, it required a senator to stand on the floor and actually talk. This meant that the senator had to really be opposed to the bill. Now all the senator has to do is announce his/her intention to filabuster and the senate must vote by at least 60 to 40 to allow a real vote on the measure. Reid should have changed the rules back to their old form in 2010 but did not. Hopefully he will retain the majority and be able to do so for the 2012 elected Senate. It would have saved the Nation much of its current troubles if he had done so after the 2008 election then we would not have been so stuck in the gridlock declared by McConnel to prevent the President from winning a second term. From the polls, the American people have caught on to what he is doing and they don't like it.
Porickseantuny | Jun 20, 2012, 12:03 PM EDT
They deserve as much sympathy as the guys who whiz along the shoulder or emergency lane of the expressway while the rest of us wait in a traffic jam.
Scrivner | Jun 20, 2012, 11:24 AM EDT
So, in a worst case scenerio, the parents could be deported but the children could stay? Romster is right when he says that we need comprehensive reform, but this Obama change is a humaitarian move. Wonder why it didn't happen when the Dems controlled both houses of Congress as well as the Presidency...couldn't blame the backbenchers, they were way outnumbered.
BrendanDunphy | Jun 20, 2012, 10:23 AM EDT
HOOLIGAN: get a clue. No nation can long exist if they punish the children that had absolutely nothing to do with any (alleged) criminal behavior whatsoever. Good for you Malachy and the McAllister family. Your wife/mother is looking down upon you today. New Jersey is your home and we are proud to have you here. Cead mile failte.
hooligan6a | Jun 20, 2012, 10:12 AM EDT
No nation can long exist if they reward criminal behavior.