Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform responds to NY Times

Niall O'Dowd, the chair of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform in New York, has a spirited reply to yesterday's New York Times article critiquing his group's efforts. In a letter to the editor published today, O'Dowd says that he is sorry the journalist didn't stay for the group's full meeting, as he might have heard uncodumented immigrants describing the difficulties of their plight; O'Dowd describes two women, one who held "a wake without a body" in the Bronx to mourn her brother, killed in a car crash in Ireland, and the other who relayed the sadness of her aging parents as they prepare to spend another Christmas without their daughter.
O'Dowd says:

He might have also heard that out of 1.2 million green cards issued last year, Ireland got about 2,000, and that there is no legal way for the Irish to emigrate here anymore.

These are serious issues, and ones that my organization was set up to address. We make no apology for doing so, the same as the Hispanic or any other lobby should make no apology for advocating for its people.

O'Dowd adds that the organisation has a good working relationship with other ethnic groups through membership in umbrella group Comprehensive Immigration Reform Now.

Read the letter on the New York Times site.

NY Times article examines Irish lobbying efforts

The Irish movement for immigration reform is covered in an opinion piece that appears in both Saturday's New York Times and today's International Herald Tribune. Titled "How green was my rally", the article by New York Times editorial board member Lawrence Downes takes a critical look at the Irish lobbying effort.

Downes quotes Senator Charles Schumer as telling a rally of Irish in the Bronx, "The more Irish there are in America, the better we all are". He notes that high-profile politicians regularly visit declining Irish-American neighborhoods, with the 50,000 Irish among the 12 million illegal immigrants in the US commanding a relatively large amount of attention.

Downes calls for a sense of inclusion in his concluding paragraphs:

[Schumer] is far from the only politician to be drawn to the white, English-speaking sliver of the immigration problem. That fondness for Irish audiences helps reinforce the odd sense of solipsism surrounding the Irish immigrant lobby. When you hear the chairman of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, Niall O'Dowd, vow to fight "to get what is rightfully ours" — more visas for the Irish — you can't help wondering how quickly such words would get a Latino banished to the militant fringe.

"We Are America" is the Latinos' and Asians' cry. The well-organized Irish don't feel the need to say that. Their slogan, on T-shirts and the Irish Lobby's Web site, is blunt: "Legalize the Irish."

The Irish have a just cause, but I only wish they and their many friends would preach the gospel of immigration reform in a bigger tent. It is, after all, every immigrant group's fate to start out in this country unloved, as the Irish are only too eager to remind us.

The Sunday New York Times, where this article first appeared, is one of the most influential newspapers in the country.

See the article in the New York Times or the International Herald Tribune

US strips naturalised citizen of citizenship

The issue of the deportation of naturalised US citizens came up in a recent discussion with Éan members. Your correspondent did not realise that taking up citizenship was not an iron-clad guarantee against deportation from the US.

In fact, while US citizens cannot be deported, a naturalised US citizen can be stripped of his citizenship and then deported. The US government is currently trying to deport Haitian-born Lionel Jean-Baptiste, a 58-year-old former restaurant owner who served seven years on drug charges. He was arrested and convicted of the offence after he became a citizen; he still maintains his innocence. Government officials stripped him of his citizenship because, they said, his conviction demonstrated that he was not of "good moral character".

Haiti refuses to accept Jean-Baptiste, saying that he is no longer a citizen under their constitution. The US then asked France to take him, but they refused. News reports say the US is going to turn next to the Dominican Republic. Jean-Baptiste has been in dentetion since June.

An administrative review will be held tomorrow. This is the first time since 1962 that a naturalised citizen has been ordered to be deported following a drug conviction.

The International Herald Tribune has more on the case.
The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition has a good page of information covering deportation.

Emigrants' NY memoirs published by Aisling Center

"While Mem'ry Brings Us Back Again" is a volume of memoirs by Irish emigrants who moved to the U.S. between 1927-1964. Compiled by Frances Browner, organizer of the Aisling Center’s “Young at Heart” group, the book details the experiences of 35 different individuals from 18 different counties.

“Far from their families, friends and everything they were used to. Every one of them overcame homesickness and the challenges of a new world and built fine lives for themselves in this great country,” said Tim O’Connor, Consul General of Ireland, at the launch of the book on November 28. “These stories will delight, absorb and uplift you. They also underline again the amazing story of the Irish in America and just how good this country has been to millions of our people."

Browner says of the emigrants' recollections: “I was transported back 50 years and plunged into a place that was already forgotten by the time of my own arrival in 1987. Why did I not know all this before? Putting this book together may help keep these memories alive for future generations of Irish Americans to know what it was like to be a new arrival.”

New York's Daily News carries a report on last week's launch, in which it profiles Frank Bergin, an 82-year-old who moved to NY just before the 1929 stock market crash. He recounts being shot in Alsace in 1945 while fighting in World War II; he went on to become the president of the Irish Business Organisation of New York and still works selling real estate.

Order the book at the Aisling Center website.

There's a 30-minute documentaryon the project and its launch available on YouTube. (Well worth watching!)

Society of Physiotherapists raises emigration issue

The Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists has issued a press release headlined, "Minister urged to halt forced emigration of Irish physiotherapy graduates".

The organisation says that it welcomes increased public health service funding in yesterday's Budget, but says, however, that increased funding "will come too late for physiotherapy graduates who are currently facing the prospect of emigration due to serious planning failures in the health service".

The ISCP says it is "gravely concerned" about the employment position of new graduates, noting that 71 (45%) of the 150 new graduates are either unemployed or working in unrelated jobs. The organisation suggests a number of recommendations "to address this crisis before new graduates are forced to emigrate".

Read the press release.

Justice for Immigrants newsletter

The Justice for Immigrants campaign, a Catholic church group advocating US immigration reform, has published its December newsletter. This issue gives an update of the campaign and the effect of the US elections, giving tips for legislative advocacy. The newsletter profiles the National Council of Catholic Women in its "Participating Organisations Showcase", and highlights the campaign's work in San Jose, California.

The newsletter also provides details on National Migration Week, which will be held January 7-13, 2007.

Read the newsletter at the Justice for Immigrants website.

Cork IT group invites returnees

A networking organisation for IT professionals in the Cork region, IT@Cork, is offering itself as a tool for returning emigrants to ease their integration back into local industry. The organisation recently published an article entitled "Support for Returning Emigrants" on its website.

The article addresses how organisations are looking to returning Irish emigrants as a way of address hiring shortages in the IT industry; it also outlines some of the tax benefits that returnees can avail of. It notes that "11% of all 'High Potential Startup Projects' funded by Enterprise Ireland were started by returning emigrants".

The article concludes with encouragement:

If you are considering returning home, the employment prospects could not be better. The Irish IT industry is a stable and mature industry, where experience and expertise are rewarded. A number of agencies, both public and private, are there to help you with the transition, whether that be to join an existing company or to assist you in setting up your own company. If you haven’t thought of moving back, maybe now is time to give it some consideration.

Read the article on the it@Cork website.
Visit the it@cork website.

Migration Policy Institute explores US immigration reform

The Migration Policy Institute explores the effects of the November elections in the US in its Policy Beat this month. It notes that many analysts believe the chance for immigration reform have improved, and that

Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), who is likely to lead the Senate subcommittee on immigration, has already begun to work with Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) to make plans for a new bill to be introduced early next year.

The bill will probably resemble the one the Senate approved last May.

The Policy Beat also includes information on the redesign of the Citizenship Test, new security measures, and the upcoming hikes in immigration fees.

Read the Policy Beat.

Migration Policy Institute names its global top 10

The Migration Policy Institute's "Migration Information Source" has named the "Top 10 Migration Issues of 2006". The top issue was a shift in many government's policies from multiculturalism to assimilation; next came the UN's High-Level dialogue on International Migration and Development, the first time UN ever hosted a multilateral discussion on the topic.

Coming in third was US immigration reform; the Source says, "Better luck next year". It notes, "The United States has not come much closer to President Bush's vision of immigration reform although events in 2006 may have changed the political climate in which immigration will be debated next year."

See the rest of the Top 10 at the Migration Information Source website.

Earlier this year, the Source produced a special issue on The Second Generation - well worth a look. It examines the experience of second-generation adult immigrants in the US.

Greg Delanty: emigrant laureate

Colum McCann, the Dublin-born, New York-based writer, appears in the weekend section of the Irish Times today praising the work of poet Greg Delanty. Greg Delanty, born in Cork and living in Vermont, is one of Ireland's best-known emigrant poets. This year he published "Collected Poetry, 1986 - 2006". Born in 1958, Delanty has lived in the US for twenty years.

Colum McCann says,

I was delighted to see Greg Delanty's 'Collected Poems'. Delanty has cataloged an entire generation and its relationship to exile. He is the laureate of those of us who have gone.

Christmas visitors face car hire hikes

The Consumers' Association of Ireland says that car rental companies in Ireland are fleecing visitors who want to hire a car over Christmas. The CAI's John Cradden compared car hire prices on websites in the days prior to Christmas (5-18th December) with the holiday period (23rd December – 5th January 2007); the companies surveyed were Avis, Hertz, Budget, Argus and National. Most firms doubled their prices over Christmas; Budget is actually charging 225% more for the Christmas rental.

The CAI also looked at car hire prices in Belfast and Paris over the same weekend. The same companies had more modest increases for Belfast, ranging from no increase to a 57% rise. There was no increase in price for Paris.

CAI’s Chief Executive Dermott Jewell stated:

“Yet again we see this sector hike their prices outrageously without any additional benefit to the customer and with a complete disdain for the negative effect upon tourism. It is profit that is the focus but with greed at its core. It is important therefore that we let our family members coming home and friends visiting for Christmas know that they must look at all possible transport alternatives before giving business to these outlets.”

See the Consumers' Association of Ireland press release.

Irish Times profiles Irish in Turkey

The Irish Times profiles the Irish in Turkey today, coinciding with the first day of the Pope's visit to that country. Journalist Aengus Collins says there are about 60 Irish people who have moved permanently to Turkey, with most settling in Istanbul. About the same number are living in Turkey for the short term, with most of those teaching English. About 1,500 are registered as having bought holiday homes.

The report notes that many of the Irish who came originally intended staying only a short time, while others came because they had a Turkish spouse or parent. It also says that the Irish community is well-integrated into Turkish life, and socialising tends to be with Turkish friends rather than other Irish expats; at Eamonn Lehane's Irish bar, none of the clientele are Irish. The low costs of living and accommodation are reported to be attractions for many of the Irish.

Most of the Irish interviewed for the article report no religious tension in the Muslim nation, with one woman saying that "For anyone that I know here, it just doesn't affect their daily life."

The full article is available on Ireland.com (subscription required).

Can digital radio help emigrants keep in touch?

Digital Radio Mondiale technology would allow the transmission of RTÉ radio into Britain and through much of Europe. Éan member Enda O'Kane has been working with the research group Irish Overseas Broadcasting as part of his efforts to improve Ireland's radio links with our emigrants.

Enda says:

Global coverage short wave has always been plagued with fading crackles and pops and was the traditional link with home for many. Digital Radio Mondiale is new, and gives the benefits of FM quality to short, medium and longwave bands.
DRM would allow Ireland, for the first time, to deliver and FM-like sound over the European continent, by bypassing expensive satellite systems.

It will also allow RTE to broadcast Radio 1 in almost-FM quality over most of the UK using Longwave 252 to a new generation of radios now available.

Environmentally friendly DRM uses only half the energy of existing AM transmitters, having a minimum impact on atmospheric pollution.

The UK's BBC and broadcasters in Germany, Holland, France, Sweden and the Vatican are just some of the DRM stations now beaming across Europe.

DRM is very attractive to small countries such as Ireland. It is cheap, does not need a satellite dish and avoids the control of a satellite "gate keeper". Motorists and listeners with portables can easily keep in touch with home.

A DRM demonstration was well-received at the recent Over-50s Exhibition at the RDS in Dublin.

Simple-to-use DRM radios are now on the market in Germany from €199 plus shipping to many countries.

These Morphy Richards and Sangean models can be purchased directly over the web:
http://www.radiostore.de
http://www.thiecom.de/shop1/index.html

Here are links to a number of articles about the new technology:

Signalling a new era for Irish radio reception in Europe
RTE's Digital Radio Scheme: Why it can't replace FM for special-interest or remote audiences
Digital TV and Radio - an excerpt from a Consumer Choice article by John Cradden
RTE's Digital Radio, an unworthy successor to FM

Visa mixup puts South African resident in jail

An Irish golf instructor who has lived in South Africa for five years spent 12 days in jail in a visa mixup, according to the South African Sunday Tribune. David Graham was in the process of applying for a visa extension when he was arrested in June in Durban. Immigration officials had misread a figure on his documentation and concluded his paperwork was invalid.

Graham was told he would be deported, and was sent to jail; although he was informed he would be put in the prison's immigration section, he was instead put in a cell with murder suspects. Graham says he bribed fellow prisoners in order to survive; South Africa's Home Affairs department took four days to find him because he was in the wrong section of the prison. His own lawyer did not know how to find him.

Graham was finally granted bail in August; his case was dismissed in October. The newspaper reports that a department of home affairs spokesperson said they were investigating the matter.

Read the full story on iol.co.za.

Gap between EU provisions and practice highlighted

The European Citizen Action Service recently hosted an event highlighting the difficulties of workers migrating within the EU. The event featured 14 citizens representing a cross-section of migrant workers explaining their experiences and making recommendations for future action.

The event highlighted the gap between European principles and lived experience. Participants reported inconsistent application of rules, red tape, and insufficient information.

The case histories of the 14 citizens are also recounted on the ECAS website. Their stories highlight a number of problems:
- working below qualifications and barriers to recognising experience earned abroad when returning home
- the "vicious circle" of formalising residence and looking for jobs
- hidden obstacles to setting up a company in another EU country
- pensioners losing out because of poor social security coordination.

Ireland's role as both an emigrant and immigrant nation was highlighted in the case studies. Irish woman Eve Geddie, who migrated to Brussels after graduating with a European Masters in Human Rights, said she was treated with disrespect by officials there, and her residence card was delayed, without which employment agencies refused to register her. In this catch-22 situation, she ran out of money and and was not able to get clear information about benefits to which she might be entitled.

Two Polish women and a Czech man recounted their experiences of working in Ireland. Agata Szarek found a job easily but she experienced discrimination as an employee; she has since started her own business and also interprets for the local Polish community. Through her interpreting duties she has realised the obstacles faced by many, including employer abuse and the language barrier. Meanwhile, Joanna Kasztelan recounted her experience working as a cleaning lady in a bakery. She was forced to carry heavy objects and work extra hours without pay, and was insulted by colleagues. When she found a new job her old employer threatened to withhold her outstanding salary. Ondrej Manda from the Czech Republic, a university graduate, was unable to find a job corresponding to his level of education and could only find work in a factory.

The report made a number of recommendations:
- a strong commitment to close the gap between EU Treaty provisions and practice on the ground
- the creation of a single information source on legal and practical information for citizens and officials
- training, resources and interpretation services for first-contact officials
- exploring the possibility of job centres the ability to check the credibility of job offers and inform people of their EU rights
- exploring the possibility of a personalised number to make it easier for citizens to switch social security and tax systems.

A full report on the event will be published shortly. Case studies and further information on the event are available on the ECAS website.

Migration the focus of Dermot Bolger's latest

Dermot Bolger, the poet who was the keynote speaker at Éan's 2005 conference, has a new play that touches on both emigration and immigration. "The Townlands of Brazil", playing now in Ballymun's Axis Arts Centre, tells the stories of two young women: one, a mother who emigrates to England in the 1960s, and the second, a Polish widow and mother who immigrates to Ireland forty years later.

Bolger told the Sunday Business Post:

"My extended family would be a typical Irish family [in that] I have loads of cousins with Wolverhampton accents and Liverpool accents and very few with Irish accents.

"When I was growing up, my own generation felt that we didn’t have to emigrate, but we soon realised that we were just a brief hiccup in the system, and once the 1980s started, there was a whole generation of young people who had to go abroad again. Of course, now that has turned around, and people are coming back, and immigrants are coming in.

"But when I talk to Polish people and Romanian people who live here, I often feel that I’m looking at my uncles and aunts, and all those generations of Irish people who had to leave their homes and start new lives."

Emigrant Services funding to increase by 25%

Funding for Emigrant Services abroad will increase by 25% in 2007, to €15.2 million, up from €12 million this year. Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern commented, “This represents a fifteen-fold increase in such provision since 1997 and reflects the Government’s strong commitment to the welfare of the Irish abroad.”

The funding will mainly go to groups in Britain that provide front-line services to emigrants there. There will also be substantial increases for emigrant groups providing services in the United States, Australia and elsewhere.

The funding increase was announced in the 2007 Estimates published today. Other Foreegn Affairs-related funding incraases include a nearly €130 million increase in aid to developing countries, up from 600.5 million this year to €738 million next year.

Irish-born Londoners decline in number

The number of Irish-born people among London's 7.3 million people now stands at 114,000, according to the Office for National Statistics. This makes the Irish the third-largest migrant group in the city, but is a dramatic fall from 1997, when there were 185,000. The Irish were at that time London's largest migrant group.

Indian-born residents now comprise the largest migrant group, with a population of 206,000, up from 144,000 in 1997; Bangladeshis came next, at 133,000.

Similarly to Ireland, the number of Eastern Europeans has risen dramatically; there are now 70,000 Poles in the city, nearly all of whom have arrived in recent years.

The number of foreign-born people in London rose from 1.63 million in 1997 to 2.28 million in June of this year.

More information on the Independent (UK) website.

Éan 2005 conference report describes proceedings

While Éan won't be holding a conference this year, the proceedings of last year's conference, themed "Toward a Positive Emigration Experience", are available online. Speakers at last year's event included representatives of the Federation of Irish Societies in Britain and the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers in the US, as well as people working with emigrant Travellers, prisoners, drug users and sexual abuse survivors. Writer Dermot Bolger gave the keynote speech and President Mary McAleese gave the concluding address.

Among the topics discussed were assisted holidays, undocumented Irish immigrants in the US, recent emigration to the UK, and research on return migrants. The event's networking and information exchange opportunities were meant to serve as an effective way for member organisations to improve the services they give to their clients.

Catherine Dunne, author of "An Unconsidered People: The Irish in London", compiled the report.

See the conference report.

Bishop Hegarty calls for respect for migrants

Dr Seamus Hegarty, Bishop of Derry and Chair of the Irish Episcopal Commission for Emigrants, has spoken of the need to respect the dignity of individual migrants in the face of globalisation. Bishop Hegarty was speaking on November 9th at the Drop-In Centre and Supported Housing Complex in Birmingham. He said the Church had a role to play in building bridges with communities and individuals living abroad. He added:

Our history shows us that during instances of people neglect, exploitation and removal of status, it resulted in an immense fall-out in terms of human suffering and economic stagnation. And what, you may ask, is the 21st century lesson that can be learnt from this historical legacy? It is thus: If we lose sight of the individual migrant, we promote globalisation without a conscience.

He also touched on the importance of Ireland's emigrant heritage as it tranforms into a nation of immigrants:

May I add that as we face the challenge of welcoming immigrants to Ireland we find ourselves reflecting on the story of Irish emigration as a touchstone for policy and initiatives. We now have a real responsibility to ensure that we provide a welcome that befits the dignity of those who migrate to Ireland. I know from talking to many Irish emigrants here in Birmingham that you support the granting of a warm welcome to those who seek a brighter future away from their homeland in Ireland.

Bishop Hegarty presented the Centre with a financial contribution from the Bishops' Supporting the Irish Abroad campaign. The theme of this year's SIA campaign was keeping in touch with elderly relatives abroad.

More information is available from the Catholic Communications Office.
See Bishop Hegarty's St Patrick's Day sermon, which launched the 2006 SIA campaign.