'Disappointment' for undocumented Irish as US Bill collapses
The collapse of a deal which would have helped the undocumented Irish in the US is “a sharp disappointment”, Fine Gael said tonight.
The compromise deal between the Republican and Democratic parties fell through after failing to clear a procedural hurdle in a sharply divided US Senate.
Fine Gael Foreign Affairs spokesman Bernard Allen said the announcement of a deal of immigration reforms yesterday had been a ray of hope for the undocumented Irish in the United States.
“However, the collapse of this accord is a sharp disappointment for the undocumented Irish, and their families at home,” he said.
The Bill would have created a temporary worker programme, as proposed by President George Bush, and opened the way for more than seven million illegal immigrants, including an estimated 30,000 Irish people, to become US citizens.
When the Bill fell 22 votes short of the 60 needed in the 100-member Senate to move forward, both Democrats and Republicans blamed each other.
Mr Allen said the Government had to redouble its efforts to get a new agreement between the two sides during the US Senate recess, which runs until April 20.
“I hope that the Senate recess will give both sides the opportunity to cool off, and to reflect on the vital importance of these legislative proposals,” he said.
