Category Archives: Foreign Affairs, the Irish Overseas and Diaspora

(Reuters) – White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Wednesday that he expects Congress will pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill that President Barack Obama will sign into law.

While Republicans in the House of Representatives have balked at key provisions of a sweeping reform law passed by the Senate, Carney said he believes “enough pressure will be brought to bear on House Republicans that they will act, and we will see comprehensive immigration reform arrive on the president’s desk so that he can sign it.”

Appearing on CNN, Carney said the Republican-led House will be pressed to act “because there’s a coalition … of business leaders, of labor leaders, of church, faith leaders, of law enforcement leaders who say we need to do this for our economy and for our middle class.”

The Senate has passed a sweeping, bipartisan immigration bill that includes a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants. Republican opponents have called the measure an “amnesty” that would reward lawbreakers and attract more illegal immigrants.

(Reporting by Vicki Allen; Editing by Paul Simao)

Be part of the debate on US Immigration reform and the struggle for legalisation of the #undocumented Irish – Follow @SenatorMarkDaly and see more of his work towards US Visa Reform as Spokesperson for the Irish Overseas and Diaspora here.

Irish Times: Notre Dame Professor – Irish Approach to Diaspora is ‘old-fashioned and condescending’

By Mary Minihan, Friday July 19 2013

Speaking ahead of an address to the Galway Arts Festival this weekend, Prof Whelan said it was wrong to view Irish-Americans as “plastic Paddys” who lacked knowledge about Ireland.

“In fact our knowledge of Irish America is equally limited. We are totally disinterested and incurious about their lives. We need to broaden our view and have a much more generous version of what an Irish identity might mean,” Prof Whelan said.

“Our address to the diaspora is insipid to say the least – old-fashioned, condescending and, in a way, we haven’t even started to engage with them on a proper level.”

Prof Whelan said he supported the concept of The Gathering, disagreeing with Gabriel Byrne’s depiction of it as an attempt to “shake down” the diaspora “for a few quid”. He said: “It met with a lot of negativity and hostility. Whatever it’s doing it’s inviting Irish Americans into a conversation about Ireland and they have responded.”

Prof Whelan will chair a discussion entitled “Thicker than water”at the Galway Arts Festival tomorrow which will feature a contribution from the Gathering chairman Tim O’Connor, former Irish consul general in New York, and Prof Mícheál Ó Súilleabháín from the University of Limerick.

I welcome the recent Pew Research which shows US Citizen support for the legalisation of undocumented workers, particularly at this critical stage in the passage of the Immigration Legislation and debate.

Irish Central: Majority of Americans say legal status for undocumented would help economy

By IrishCentral Staff, 17 July 2013

As the immigration debate heads toward a crucial point, the majority of U.S. citizens agree that legal status for undocumented immigrants could help the U.S. economy, Pew research suggests.

Three-quarters of Americans say it would be “better for the economy for undocumented immigrants to gain legal status and become legal workers,” the latest research from the Pew states. Some 83 percent of Democrats and 70 percent of GOP voters share that view.

Three quarters of those surveyed agreed most undocumented immigrants are hard workers who should have the opportunity to stay and improve their lives.

Though the Senate handily passed its “Gang of Eight” comprehensive immigration reform bill by a vote of 68 to 32, lobbyists predict a similar result in the more conservative House of Representatives will be more difficult to come by.

This sentiment ties into the Pew findings which state that 66 percent of Republicans believe granting legal status to undocumented immigrants would take jobs from American citizens, compared to 41 percent of Democrats.

Almost two thirds (64 percent) of those surveyed say granting legal status will encourage more immigrants to come to the U.S. illegally.

When it comes to specific requirements for legal status, 76 percent of Americans are in favor of undocumented immigrants proving they can speak and understand English before gaining legal status.

The analysis is based on telephone interviews conducted over four days in June, among a national sample of 1,512 adults.