IRISH EYES - IMMIGRATION REFORM & THE IRISH: World's Magazine Alumnus and first writer for our IRISH EYES column, JOE O'NEILL returns at St. Patrick's Day to provide a special report on how pending immigration issues facing the U.S. Congress impact Irishpeople in the United States.

San Francisco, CA, USA - As St. Patrick's Day celebrations gather momentum around the U.S., thousands of undocumented Irish and supporters gathered in Washington, D.C. on March 8, to lobby Congress on upcoming legislation on immigration reform.

The legislation. S. 1033 IS, the McCain/Kennedy Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senator Arlen Specter. Key points of the bill would allow people to change status within the U.S., provide a path to permanent residency, and provide a legal path for future immigrants.

The Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, founded in New York last December, have organized meetings in New York, Massathuchuss, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and California which have attracted thousands of undocumented Irish citizens. Current estimates of the number of undocumented Irish in the U.S. are thought to be around 40,000.

The Irish government have passed an all-party resolution in the Dail, (the Irish parliament) supporting immigration reform and the Department of Foreign Affairs have allocated around $36,000 (USD) to assist the work of the ILIR.

A publi c meeting on February 23, in San Francisco's United Irish Cultural Center, organized by the Irish Immigration Pastoral Center drew a crowd which organizers estimated at around 1,000 people. Speakers at the meeting, chaired by Father Brendan McBride, of the Pastoral Center, included; Joe Hackett, First Secretary and Press Officer from the Irish Consulate in Washington, Kelly Fincham, Executive Director from the recently formed Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform from New York, local businessman Angus McCarthy, immigration attorneys Jim Byrne and Susanna Bogue, and attorney Bart Murphy, who was involved in the Irish Immigration Reform Movement in the late 1980s.

Representatives from Seattle and San Diego Irish communities were also in attendance.

Two ladies from the New York area who are undocumented immigrants from Ireland introduced as Samantha and Mary also addressed the audience. Samantha, who has a degree in Psychology, currently works as a bartender and Mary, holds a degree in nursing and is licensed to practice in New York, but is as she put it, "is unable to fulfill her dream" because of her status. Her grandmother was born in the U.S. in 1900.

Angus McCarthy, who arrived in San Francisco in 1984, and was the recipient of a visa under the Donnelly Program, urged those in attendance to not only to lobby local politicians but to also have family and friends in Ireland put pressure on politicians there to support their efforts for immigration reform. "When Bertie Ahern, (the Irish Prime Minister) comes here in March for St. Patrick's Day celebrations and meets with President George Bush," he said, "his ears should be ringing from all the phone calls from family and friends of those in the U.S. who need relief from the immigration nightmare of being undocumented."

All the speakers urged those in attendance to call, fax or write to their Senators and local representatives. Both California Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein live in the Bay area and Feinstein serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

For information on ILIR, their web site is: irishlobbyusa.org. Telephone (718) 598-7530

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