Bill not yet law, Irish illegal immigrants warned

IRISH people living illegally in America were yesterday warned not to celebrate prematurely after the US Senate passed an immigration bill offering a path to citizenship.

Bernard Allen, the Fine Gael spokesman on foreign affairs, said the bill would face a tough passage to become law.

The major obstacle is that the House of Representatives passed a competing bill last December criminalising illegal immigration.

The two chambers of congress will have to work out a compromise between the two documents, because a bill must pass both bodies in the same form before it can be presented to the president for signature into law. A House-Senate conference committee will be established in an attempt to find middle ground.

“Whilst developments this week have been positive, we must acknowledge that further hurdles have yet to be overcome,” said Mr Allen.

“The legislation passed by the US Senate must also go through the House of Representatives and will face challenges and opposition there. There is no room for complacency in this matter, and intensive efforts to support this legislation must be maintained.”

Both the Government and the opposition have lobbied extensively in the US on the issue. Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern spent much of this week in Washington pressing the issue with key legislators.

Speaking upon his return, he said: “I appreciate that the legislative process still has a considerable way to go. However, [the Senate decision] marks a hugely significant advance. We must all now intensify our efforts in the period leading up to the crucial reconciliation conference between the Senate and the House of Representatives on their respective bills.”

The Senate bill would allow for illegal immigrants who have been in the US for five years or more to gain citizenship after working for a probationary six-year period, learning English, and paying a penalty and back taxes.

Those in the US for two to five years would have to return to a point of entry at the border and apply for a guest-worker programme. Those in the country less than two years would have to return to their native countries.

Mr Ahern will chair a public meeting in Cork on Monday night at which the plight of the undocumented Irish will be discussed.

The meeting, organised by Fianna Fáil’s three TDs in Cork North-Central — Billy Kelleher, Noel O’Flynn and Dan Wallace — will give people the chance to voice their concerns about the status of relatives living illegally in the US.

The meeting will take place at the Silver Springs Hotel at 8pm.