Ahern urges Senate to pass immigration legislation
Bertie Ahern today urged the US Senate to pass immigration legislation that would benefit the estimated 50,000 to 70,000 illegal Irish immigrants in the United States.
He said he would raise the issue in talks tomorrow with US President George Bush as he did during a day of talks with members of Congress.
“We understand your concern about the need for better security and tightened borders,” he said after meeting with Republican Sen John McCain.
“We do not want to interfere in your affairs but we will put forward our case.”
He thanked McCain for his support on the immigration issue.
McCain and Sen Edward Kennedy are among those sponsoring immigration bills that the Judiciary Committee is considering.
Asked by an Irish journalist if exceptions could be made for members of a national group, McCain said he opposes he opposes special treatment for national groups such as the Irish in other immigration legislation under consideration in the Senate.
McCain said if the Senate does not pass comprehensive immigration legislation, it will be an issue in the congressional elections in November. He said it will not go away because fundamental reform is required.
“I am hesitant to start carving out national groups” such as the Irish or the Poles or Ukrainians, McCain said. “I would rather focus on a comprehensive solution.”
In a speech he was to give this evening, Ahern said bringing peace to Northern Ireland is not an empty slogan.
“It is hard work and high aspiration that we strive to meet each and every day, “ he said. “My message today is clear: we simply will not give up.”
Kennedy and his colleagues on the Ireland Executive Committee, Sens Chris Dodd and Susan Collins, and Rep Nancy Pelosi, issued a statement welcoming the February 1 finding of the Independent Monitoring Commission in Northern Ireland that the Irish Republican Army has “taken the strategic decision to eschew terrorism and pursue a political path.”
The group regretted “that the Democratic Unionist Party has refused to state that it is willing to share power with all parties, including Sinn Fein, and has continued to reject the Good Friday Agreement” of 1998 that started the peace process. Sinn Fein is the political ally of the IRA.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, also in Washington for talks with politicians, said the next step in the peace process was for British Prime Minister Tony Blair to summon the Northern Ireland Assembly so it can choose an executive government .
“It has to be done and done quickly” Adams said after meeting with Rep Peter King and other politicians. “There is no reason for delay.”
