On November 20 2014, US President Barack Obama announced Executive Orders on Deferred Action for some immigrants. This serves as tremendous relief from threat of deportation for Irish families with US born Children. Also Irish work visa holders, as well as their spouses, now have eased ability to apply for permanent resident visas and move between jobs in the US, which was very difficult in the past. The Executive Order doesn’t affect the undocumented status of those who arrived here after January 1 2010, parents of DACA eligible children or single Irish immigrants without US born children.
Those who qualify, and only after background checks and successful completion of the application process, may be eligible, by the end of 2015 to finally travel home to Ireland in a system known as Advanced Parole to adjust status or apply for visas they previously have not qualified for. The same timeline applies for humanitarian issues like emergency visits home for life / medical events. These parole travel opportunities will not happen in the immediate future, and we are working now to clarify the details with US agencies.
There will be many Irish who desire to travel home right away but that is not possible. Modern day carpetbaggers or unscrupulous operators will try to take advantage of immigrants by offering false, expensive or deceptive processing fees that may lead to nowhere. We need everyone to direct inquiries from Irish immigrants to the Irish Immigration Centers and Irish Consulates to get real answers and help for Irish Immigrants. It is through our help and those agencies that trusted, reliable advice and legal referrals can be found. A list of these trusted Irish Centers is found at: ciic-usa.org/find-your-local-irish-center/
Clearly, this action is a stepping stone. We strongly feel we can now move the remaining issues. Some indicators were that Congress might not have acted otherwise on immigration reform until as late as 2017. This action doesn’t nearly take care of the long struggle of the Irish undocumented and those in Thar Saile who remain in a legal limbo. Nor does the action allow future flow of legal immigration for the Irish or put an end to injustices to the Irish caused by the 1967 Immigration Act.
We have gotten this far together and will continue to work with ILIR and Irish American activists and lobbyists like Billy Lawless, Manus Cooney & Former Congressman Bruce Morrison, Irish immigration centers, US Legislators and the Irish Government through it’s Embassy & Consulates to finish the deal. We need the Congress to act on immigration sooner and not in some distant future. I ask every Irish American to urge Congress to finish the job, give the Irish our visas back and put an end to 50 years of injustice to the Irish.
Yours in Our Motto of Friendship Unity and Christian Charity,
Dan Dennehy
National Immigration Chairman Ancient Order of Hibernians in America Inc
America’s Largest, Oldest & Leading Irish Catholic Organization
22 Andre Lane, Cortlandt Manor NY 10567
(914)588-2710
dandennehy@hotmail.com www.aoh.com