Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 May 2004
106 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will include the illegal status of thousands of Irish emigrants in the USA in his discussions with President George Bush during his visit to Ireland in June 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14588/04]
View answerAs Ireland currently holds the Presidency of the EU, we will host the forthcoming EU-US Summit in June. The main issues for discussion will relate to foreign policy, economic and trade relations and other areas of shared EU-US interest. It would not be appropriate at an EU summit to have the issue of undocumented Irish people in the US discussed.
Recently, three proposals aimed at helping to regularise the situation of undocumented foreign nationals in the US have been put forward.
On 7 January, President Bush announced a proposal to introduce a new form of temporary work permit which would be available to both undocumented foreign nationals currently in the US and those seeking to enter with a job already arranged. Shortly afterwards, Senator Tom Daschle and Senator Chuck Hagel announced a bipartisan plan for immigration reform that would enable undocumented foreign nationals in the US to legalise their status if they fulfilled certain conditions. Earlier this month, Senator Edward Kennedy introduced a new immigration reform Bill entitled the Safe, Orderly Legal Visas and Enforcement Act — the SOLVE Act. This Bill goes further than other recent immigration initiatives in providing opportunities for undocumented immigrants to regularise their status.
I welcome these proposals as constructive efforts to deal with the situation of the undocumented in the US in a constructive and sympathetic way. While there appears to be no prospect of a formal amnesty for the undocumented at the present time, the Daschle-Hagel and the Kennedy proposals in particular appear to offer undocumented Irish people an opportunity to obtain permanent legal residency.
These proposals will have to be approved by the US Congress and it is too early to say what changes or amendments may be made in the course of their consideration by Congress. I will continue to monitor the progress of both initiatives through the US Congress closely in the coming months.
During a visit to Washington earlier this year, I discussed the situation and status of Irish emigrants in the US with a number of prominent US politicians. I was pleased to have this early opportunity to flag our concerns about the position of Irish emigrants in the US. I can assure the Deputy that, through our embassy in Washington and through my own contacts with political leaders in the US, I will continue to encourage and support measures that would benefit Irish citizens in the US.
