Thousands of Irish immigrants living illegally in the US could get the right to stay by paying a fine if proposals from President Bush are implemented, US ambassador James Kenny has indicated, writes Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent.
The ambassador yesterday briefed the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee, which had complained about a series of recent arrests of Irish people in the US.
Under the proposal, he said, Irish "illegals" would have to come forward, admit their wrongdoing, show a clean record and pay "a fine".
The meeting with the Foreign Affairs Committee took place in private at Mr Kenny's insistence. He said he did not want to discuss individual cases in public.
According to several sources, Mr Kenny said during the meeting that President Bush's proposals to change immigration laws could benefit Irish "illegals".
Under the Bush plan, which has yet to reach Capitol Hill, illegals could first get temporary three-year visas and then apply for permanent residency.
However, the proposal is being fiercely opposed in some quarters, where there are fears that it could encourage further illegal immigration from Mexico.
Speaking to TDs and senators, Mr Kenny warned the legislation would be stillborn if it came to be regarded as "an amnesty". The legislation could benefit up to 10 million people, and may play a major part in the Republican Party's efforts to woo the Hispanic community.
Efforts last night to get additional information on the scheme from the US embassy in Dublin were unsuccessful.
The US Citizen and Immigration Services said in 2000 that it believed 3,000 Irish people were living in the US illegally, though Irish immigration centres regarded this as a low estimate.
The tightening of immigration rules after the September 11th attacks led to the deportation of 273 Irish citizens, while 10 more are awaiting deportation. Some have been held in jail for up to eight weeks for immigration violations.
Tighter rules mean that Irish "illegals" are now unable to apply to renew their driving licences and other official papers because of the fear of discovery.
Meanwhile, the ambassador defended the operation of the J-1 visa scheme, which has for years granted short-term stays to Irish students. The numbers of Irish travelling on the programme has fallen substantially since September 11th, partly because of the much stricter vetting process.
Many students had complained to Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen that they had been met with "arrogance and rudeness" by US embassy visa staff.
The continuing attractiveness of J-1 visas was highlighted by the large number of applications from Irish students for 500 Canadian J-1s.
