An Oireachtas committee delegation intends to travel to Washington to lobby on behalf of thousands of Irish illegal aliens in the US, it has emerged.
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs has met US Ambassador to Ireland James Kenny and expressed its concern about the treatment of Irish nationals being deported under the more stringent regime introduced following the September 11th attacks.
The committee met in private session yesterday where Mr Kenny told them that a scheme was under consideration in Washington that could allow illegal aliens pay a fine in return for having their situation regularised.
The committee today welcomed the proposal and announced its intention to send a delegation to the US capital to lobby congressmen. The cross-party group could travel before the summer.
Group chairman Dr Michael Woods told ireland.commore "homework" would need to be done before a delegation travelled but that the proposal could come before Congress in the Autumn session, meaning the delegation could need to go to the US as early as May.
"We could need to do so sooner rather than later. . . . Some in Congress are opposed to reforms like this. It's quite a sensitive issue and it's expected there'll be quite a vigorous debate," Dr Woods said.
Apart from a general concern about giving amnesties to law breakers, lawmakers are also worried that regularising the status of people from countries such as Mexico and Central America could become a spur for greater levels of illegal immigration.
There are an estimated 10,000-20,000 illegal Irish immigrants in the United States, many of who have been living there for years. Following the September 11th attacks, the US has clamped down on aliens, and nearly 300 Irish have been deported in the past four years.
Fine Gael foreign affairs spokesperson Bernard Allen, who also sits on the committee, today said: "Many of these people were detained for up to three months before being deported, sometimes held side-by-side with hardened criminals, and even shackled in certain cases.
"I understand that at present there are 10 Irish people awaiting deportation from the US. I also stressed to the Ambassador that at the moment there are many Irish people living in a state of limbo in the US, constantly fearing the next knock at their door."
Dr Woods said Mr Kenny gave the Committee "a strong assurance that these will be dealt with swiftly if there are any particular problems", adding that the United States recognises the special relationship between it and Ireland.
The committee also expressed concern about the recent drop in the number of Irish students seeking the short-term J1 visa.
Mr Allen blamed tightened immigration procedures and high costs for the fall off and said Mr Kenny recognised there were problems.