Deputy Pearse Doherty has called on the Government to immediately start work on an action plan aimed at resolving the plight of undocumented Irish citizens living in the United States.
He has urged the Government to prioritise the case of Irish migrants at all future talks with the incoming U.S. President during their term in office.
Deputy Doherty, who will this week seek assurances from Government that the diaspora will be central to all future engagements between cabinet and officials in the U.S., says that the failure by successive Governments to do much other than pay lip service to Irish citizens living illegally in the United State must now stop.
Deputy Doherty said “As many people will know, I have repeatedly been raising the plight of undocumented Irish citizens living in the United States ever since I first entered the Dáil as a Public Representative.
“Since then, we’ve seen successive Governments come and go and yet the real situation facing Irish citizens in the U.S. has not improved, and many of the undocumented continue to live in a state of constant fear and isolation, something which I feel is due to the inaction of Ministers and Taoisigh both past and present.”
The Sinn Fein TD said we all know of loved ones who have taken the decision to travel to the United States in order to carve out a better life for both themselves and their families, and yet countless numbers of Irish migrants will face hardship as they try to contend with living as an undocumented person abroad.
“It is sad and horrible to think that Irish citizens, after having moved to the U.S. that, because of their illegal status, they cannot return home to see loved ones or to be part of those big life events such as weddings, the birth of a relative or even for to come home to be with their families following the death of a loved one.
“It’s also important to remember all those Irish citizens who’ve been deported back to Ireland from the U.S. and forced to give up their lives in America simply because Governments here have failed in their duty to represent them and lobby on their behalf as part of official engagements with authorities in the U.S.
“Clearly, the undocumented have been failed time and time again as nothing more than mere lip service has been paid to them and indeed to those who’ve been forced to leave the country following their detection.
“This is simply not good enough and I firmly believe that these citizens deserve more than meaningless platitudes and insignificant gestures. They need to know that their Government at home is doing everything in its power to progress their cause and represent their interests as Irish citizens living abroad.
“I believe that, given the fact that the U.S. Presidential Election will be taking place next month, and that a new President will be in office in the U.S. in the coming weeks, it is vital that the Government uses this opportunity to immediately set out its stall and implement an action plan which aims to resolve the plight of thousands of these undocumented Irish citizens who, for far too long, have been ignored and forgotten.
“This week I will raise this matter with the Government, and I will be asking what measures will be taken to advocate for immigration reforms and relief for undocumented Irish migrants, and also if a request will now be made which will see the issue of the undocumented Irish being the focus of all future discussions as part of meetings which will be held between Ministers and their counterparts in the U.S.”
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