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Home Page > News > Scott Brown’s Irish E-3 visa bill aims to right wrongs made by 1965 immigration ruling

Scott Brown’s Irish E-3 visa bill aims to right wrongs made by 1965 immigration ruling

Pending bill criticized by ethnic minorities

ANTOINETTE KELLY,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 8:18 AM

Updated Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 8:18 AM

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Senator Scott Brown

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Senator Scott Brown has been criticized by ethnic minorities over his efforts to pass the E3 visa bill, which would potentially grant 10,500 work visas for Irish workers per year.

A representative from the Washington-based League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) accused Brown of “political pandering over what’s really needed”.

A Patriot Ledger Washington report states that Brent Wilkes, LULAC’s national executive director pointed out that Brown had not supported the DREAM Act, a controversial bill which would grant citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants, if they enrolled in college or serve in the military.

“Why pick the Irish immigrants in Massachusetts,” Wilkes asked. “He obviously has an agenda and it has nothing to do with spearheading true immigration reform.”

According to Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Reform Advocacy Coalition, the issue is not isolated to Irish immigrants.

“The problem is that there are flaws in the immigration system in general, and the entire system needs to be reformed for everyone.”

“Many other nations have workers longing for a chance to come to our shores and exercise their skills.”

However Brown’s spokesman, John Donnelly, disagreed.

“For decades, the Irish have been unfairly shut out by our immigration laws, while immigration from many other countries has sharply increased,” he said.

Brown “is working to pass a legal immigration solution for the Irish that better reflects our deep cultural and economic ties,” Donnelly added.

The Irish Immigration Reform and Encouragement – IRE Act, introduced by Brown seeks to change the treatment of Irish immigration under 1965 law. The E3 program would allow skilled Irish job seekers to come to the U.S. once they acquire a job offer from a U.S. firm.

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slainte9 | Apr 11, 2012, 04:15 PM EDT

LULAC is the biggest bunch of bigoted ingrates. Wasn't it Tip O'Niell who rammed through the In brief the Immigratnion Act of 1986: - required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status. - made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit unauthorized immigrants. - granted amnesty to certain seasonal agricultural illegal immigrants. - granted amnesty to illegal immigrants who entered the United States before January 1, 1982 and had resided there continuously.

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Seanmor | Apr 10, 2012, 08:37 PM EDT

Senator Brown's bill would eliminate some of the unfairness created by the 1965 immigration law. Besides, Brown's proposal would also reinforce American-Irish "cultural and economic ties". And it would reward the nation that for centuries provided the U.S military with many of its bravest and best members. The so-called Patriot Act, if passed, would have been very unfair to former Irish citizens such as I. That act would have granted citizenship to millions of illegal aliens if no criminal records were found for them in a 48-hour's investigation. In 1965 I applied for U.S. citizenship and had to undergo an investigation that took about 48 days before I was approved. I was finger-printed,photographed and thoroughly investigated, eveg tho I had recently been discharged from 4 years of HONORABLE service in the Marine Corps.

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irishpjk | Apr 10, 2012, 04:07 PM EDT

I hope the bill will pass and undo some of the damage our so called friends and the Kennedys brought on us in the early sixties.

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Springfield9 | Apr 10, 2012, 01:21 PM EDT

Brown is right E-3 should be passed. The number of UNiversity Graduates who go to Australia because they can't get into the U.S. is staggering. Our current in-flow of minority citizens consists of people who may be able to write their name.

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joan1954 | Apr 10, 2012, 11:30 AM EDT

It is not Brown's fault that E3 hasn't gone through, yet. There are other senators who are holding up the bill for other agendas. If it does pass, isn't back to the house and Lamar Smith of Texas, Judiciary Committee Chairman, has already indicated that he won't support it. So ethnic groups need to band together and not fight one senator over his not voting for the Dream Act. E3 is viable for all.

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