Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 December 2015
521. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent of communication and correspondence between his Department and authorities in the United States of America as part of efforts to resolve the ongoing plight and difficulties of undocumented Irish citizens living there; the progress in regularising their status and in introducing a dedicated visa waiver programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46009/15]
View answer522. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the authorities in the United States of America have made a specific request for a visa waiver programme for undocumented Irish citizens living there; if he is aware of the success of the efforts of the Mexican Government to negotiate such a programme with the United States of America on behalf of its citizens living illegally there; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46010/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 521 and 522 together.
Achieving relief for undocumented Irish migrants in the US and agreement on a facility for future legal migration between Ireland and the US is a priority in the Government’s relationship with the United States.
Our Embassy in Washington and Consulates elsewhere in the US are active in advocating immigration reform and the issue is also the subject of high level political contacts between Ireland and the US Government. Meetings such as those between the Taoiseach, President Obama and other senior political figures around St Patrick’s Day have provided an important opportunity to reiterate our concerns in relation to the undocumented Irish and to encourage progress on a comprehensive legislative package by Congress.
In July, the Taoiseach and I met with John Boehner, the then-Speaker of the House of Representatives, and a number of his Congressional colleagues when they visited Dublin. More recently, in Washington at the end of September, I met key Democratic and Republican contacts on Capitol Hill, including Senator Patrick Leahy, Congressmen Joseph Kennedy III, Paul Ryan, James Sensenbrenner, Richard Neal and other members of the Congressional Friends of Ireland group. In all of these meetings I stressed the importance we attach to immigration reform, as I did when meeting leaders of the Irish American community later that week in New York.
Additionally, the Government is aware of and has raised the matter of waivers of three and ten-year travel bans imposed by the US authorities on Irish undocumented who have overstayed their visa in the United States.
At my request, the Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade wrote to the US Ambassador earlier this year to ask him to explore the question of such waivers further. I have also had the opportunity to directly discuss the matter with the US Ambassador. The Taoiseach also raised waivers, amongst other immigration reform issues, during his visit to Washington for St Patrick’s Day.
In response to the Government’s representations the US Embassy has pointed out that the US waiver system operates uniformly worldwide and is applied in strict accordance with US laws and regulations. Individuals who have received a three or 10 year ban for overstaying a visa in the US can apply for a waiver and these applications are assessed individually on a case-by-case basis, with the final decision on each a matter for the US authorities in Washington. The US Embassy also noted it was not possible for applicants to predict with any degree of certainty whether they would be successful in this process. The Embassy has also advised that there are no differences in the way in which the US waiver system is applied to Mexican and Irish citizens.
The Government has been assiduous in seeking to advance all viable opportunities to achieve relief for our undocumented citizens in the United States. While I am disappointed that representations to the US on this matter have not resulted in a more encouraging outcome, ultimately it is a matter for the US Government and US Embassy to interpret and implement their immigration laws.
The Government as a whole, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin and our Embassy in Washington, will continue to actively follow up on all opportunities to improve the situation of the Irish undocumented with the US Administration, with Congress, and with the US Embassy in Ireland. In addition, the Government continues to provide significant financial support, more than €1.5 million in 2015, for the work of Irish immigration centres across the US.
