Illegal Irish subject to heavy-handed treatment by US, says FG

THE US Ambassador should be asked to appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs to discuss the heavy-handed treatment of Irish people living illegally in the States, a leading opposition spokesman said yesterday.

Bernard Allen, Fine Gael Spokesman on Foreign Affairs, made the call yesterday when expressing concern about the manner in which “undocumented” Irish are detained by US authorities before being deported to Ireland.

He said the committee should invite the Ambassador James Kenny to discuss the matter as early as possible in 2005.

“However, I am concerned at the manner in which some Irish citizens have been detained and deported from the United States in recent months, and believe that this matter should be discussed with the US Ambassador at the earliest possible opportunity.

“The United States administration has the right to set its own immigration policies, and we must respect that right,” he said.

“In some cases, Irish citizens are being detained in prison for a considerable period of time before being deported from the US. Holding Irish citizens alongside those who have committed serious crimes appears excessive.”

He said that in those cases, the holding of people in prison for two or three months before being sent home was causing considerable hardship and worry, both for those involved and for their families in Ireland.

“I would also like to raise with the ambassador the case of the many Irish people who are illegally resident in the United States. Their plight is especially poignant at this time of year as, although many of them have been resident in the US for many years, they are in a legal limbo. They find themselves unable to travel home, even for family funerals, and are also increasingly subject to blackmail due to their illegal status,” he said.

However, while in excess of 50,000 Irish people are living in the US illegally, the number of deportations has been very low in comparison with other nationalities. Last year, only 60 Irish people were deported from the US, which represented a fall from 2002.

And not all of those were deported for visa violations - an unspecified number were deported arising from criminal charges or conviction.