Senate Spokesperson for the Irish Overseas and Diaspora and Chair of the Ireland America Association, Mark Daly has called on the Government to ensure 2016 is the year the 50,000 undocumented Irish can come home to see their loved ones.
“With 50,000 Undocumented Irish in America, we estimate that approximately 500,000 people in Ireland, that includes mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and other family members are affected by the lack of Immigration Reform in the United States,” said Senator Daly.
“There has been little progress made in 2015; humanitarian visas were not made available, despite my request that the Government ask for President Obama to include such a provision in the Executive Action which is now being challenged in the supreme court. People should be given access to humanitarian visa, this would allow them to return to the US if they need to travel home to Ireland to be with family members in times of distress, illness or bereavement.
“I am now calling on the Government to work on a resolution for the undocumented Irish in the United States, who have lived there for in excess of 10 years and have contributed significantly to the US economy, without access to healthcare and social welfare protection.”
“This is an emotive and important issue for many families throughout Ireland who miss loved ones, 365 days of the year, and that presence is most profoundly felt at Christmas. We need a more concerted effort from the Government on this issue The possibility of having loved ones home has been made impossible by a lack of action. I hope we are not in the same position, which we were last year and again find ourselves in this year, in Christmas 2016.” concluded Senator Daly.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.