It’s time for a clear immigration system

THE positive steps in the US senate to bring about genuine immigration reform will be welcomed by families on both sides of the Atlantic who have had to live with the heartache of being torn apart by immigration rules.

For many undocumented Irish, a path has been set out by senators, Democrat and Republican, which could finally see them able to regularise their immigration status and return home for big family events and celebrations.

It is a success not just for Barack Obama, but also for successive Irish governments that have campaigned for change. No doubt some of our own political leaders will try and claim some of the glory. However, before their laps of honour in the Irish clubs, centres, and societies of Hell’s Kitchen, Queens or Brooklyn, as well as Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, they should start looking closer to home.