Minister to highlight plight of Irish illegals in US
High-powered attempts are being made to highlight the plight of the undocumented Irish living in the US.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern will be meeting emigrant organisations in New York and Boston this week to discuss measures which would grant legal residence status to the illegal Irish living there.
Separately, Fine Gael Leader Enda Kenny leaves for New York today for a series of meetings with emigrant bodies in New York.
The visits come at a critical time with legislative debate on the issue entering an important phase.
Minister Ahern said today that US President George Bush is sympathetic towards the Irish situation, but has to consider the situation as a whole.
There are estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the US, mostly Mexican. Only 25,000 to 30,000 of them are thought to be Irish.
