Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 October 2007
196 Deputy Dinny McGinley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has had an opportunity of discussing the plight of the undocumented Irish in the United States during his recent visit there; the people and organisations he met with; if he will report on progress; and ifhe will make a statement on the matter. [25507/07]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe failure of efforts by the United States Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation earlier this year was a major disappointment and a setback for the thousands of undocumented Irish people in the United States and for their families in Ireland. Given the present very difficult and divided environment in Congress on immigration, it is now widely considered that such comprehensive legislation is unlikely to be back before Congress in a meaningful way in advance of the next US Presidential and Congressional Elections.
In the aftermath of this disappointment, I made clear my determination to actively review the situation and to explore possible alternative options, including bilateral arrangements. In the months since the collapse of the comprehensive reform bill, my Department and the Embassy in Washington have been engaged in a wide range of consultations with Congressional, Administration and Irish community figures to assess how best to proceed.
My recent visit to the United States provided me with the opportunity to discuss the situation with senior members of the Administration and with some of the key central players in Congress. In this regard, among those with whom I had meetings were Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Under Secretary Paula Dobriansky, Senators Edward Kennedy, Charles Schumer, Patrick Leahy and Lindsay Graham as well as with the House of Representatives Friends of Ireland Group. While they all emphasised the present extremely difficult environment for making progress on immigration reform in Congress, I was pleased that they were very willing to work with us in exploring further possible ways for resolving the position of our undocumented citizens. This work is being pursued by the Ambassador and his staff in Washington and will be reviewed by me on an on-going basis.
I also reviewed the situation with the Irish lobby for immigration reform, and subsequently briefed them on my discussions in Washington, including the considerable challenges seen by our friends in Congress in achieving a breakthrough at this time. Finally, I had a detailed discussion on the situation with the Secretary for Homeland Security, Mr Michael Chertoff, and had a meeting with members of our undocumented community in New York.
