News about the Irish & Irish American culture, music, news, sports. This is hosted by the Irish Aires radio show on KPFT-FM 90.1 in Houston, Texas (a Pacifica community radio station)

December 14, 2005

Action Alert: Irish Immigration Reform Effort


A couple of IAUC representatives recently attended the first
meeting of the new immigration reform group in New York to
show our interest and support. Eamonn Dornan, IAUC
National Human Rights Chair, made quite an impact while
addressing the crowd with his interpretation of the bill and
questioned Congressman Peter King's recent support of it.
(see Belfast Telegraph news story below)

ACTION ITEMS:

1.) Check out the new group, Irish Lobby for Immigration
Reform (ILIR), at: http://www.irishlobbyusa.org

2.) Contact CONGRESSMAN PETER KING to inquire why
he is now sponsoring the Sensenbrenner anti-immigration
bill. Politely ask how Irish immigrants, whom King has
supported throughout the years, will be affected by this
legislation. Please report back to us any responses you
receive. What does the future hold for Malachy McAllister or
the other deportee cases if this bill is passed?

Congressman Peter King Attn: Adam Paulson, Legislative
Affairs Aide 436 Cannon House Office Building Washington,
D.C. 20515 Telephone: #202-225-7896 Email:
Pete.King@mail.house.gov

3.) Contact SENATORS and urge them to support the
McCain/Kennedy immigration bill.
http://kennedy.senate.gov/~kennedy/statements/05/05/2005512A04.html

Senate operator: #202-224-3121 http://www.senate.gov

4.) CIARAN FERRY's legal team recently learned that his
next hearing will be held in Utah this March. We need
everyone to make an effort to attend the hearing in Utah to
show your support for the Irish deportee cases and to the
Ferry family. Further details will be provided as soon as we
learn more information. For those of you who are new to
Ciaran's case, he is an Irish deportee who was sent back to
Belfast after spending 2 years in jail in Colorado. His
American wife and child reside in the U.S. while awaiting the
outcome of his case. http://www.ciaranferry.com

Deanna Turner Director of Communications Irish American
Unity Conference #1-800-947-4282 www.iauc.org

---------------------------------------------

US in major crackdown on illegal immigrants

By Sean O'Driscoll - Belfast Telegraph 13 December 2005

A Belfast-born immigration lawyer has warned that anyone
helping illegal immigrants in the US could be jailed under a
bill approved by the House of Representatives Judiciary
Committee last week.

At a meeting to launch a new group, the Irish Lobby for
Immigration Reform (ILIR), Belfast lawyer Eamonn Dornan
warned that helping illegal immigrants could become a
federal offence.

The bill, introduced by the judiciary committee chairman,
James Sensenbrenner, would require employers to verify the
Social Security numbers of their employees and impose
heavy fines for anyone who refuses to comply.

Mr Dornan warned the bill would ensure a crackdown on
restaurant and construction companies hiring Irish
immigrants.

His claim was backed by Senator Ted Kennedy's
immigration spokeswoman Esther Olavarria, who described
the Sensenbrenner bill as a "horrible, horrible" piece of
legislation that could cause very serious problems for
immigrants.

Campaigners packed into a New York meeting room for the
first meeting of the ILIR group, which calls for legal status for
more than 25,000 illegal Irish immigrants living in the US.

The group is to lobby members of congress to pass the
McCain Kennedy immigration bill, which would allow illegal
immigrants to eventually obtain citizenship.

The organisation was launched by Ms Olavarria; immigration
expert and former congressman Bruce Morrison, Antrim man
Father Colm Campbell from the New York Irish Center and
Niall O'Dowd, the editor of the Irish Voice newspaper.

Ms Olavarria said that immigrants needed to lobby for the
McCain Kennedy bill, which would allow illegal immigrants to
apply for six-year work permits before applying for
permanent citizenship.

She added that it was unlikely that President Bush would
give the McCain Kennedy bill his full backing but said that it
had the support of a wide range of US society.

ILIR's inaugural meeting attracted a larger than expected
crowd at the Affinia Hotel in mid-Manhattan, with all the
seats taken and Irish immigrants lining the walls of the
meeting room.

Many of them wanted to know how long it would take before
the McCain Kennedy bill went to a full vote in Congress.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=672740

Also see the following articles:

Group To Galvanize Opinion For Undocumented
Lobbying To Defeat HR 4437
Huge Support Greets New Lobby Group
'We Will Save Ourselves'


Posted by: Unknown / 11:10 PM
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