‘Glimmers of hope for ‘Undocumented Irish’ in US Immigration Reform’ – Rogers
South Down Assembly Member Seán Rogers, who has been following the fortunes of our Irish emigrants in America, has expressed uncertainty following the recent statement from House Republicans in Washington. Speaking to Newry Times, Rogers said, “The Republicans accept that the immigration issue must be solved by what they refer to as a step-by-step, common-sense approach. “They qualify this by stating that the process must start with securing America’s borders, enforcing the immigration laws and implementing robust enforcement measures. “The Republicans claim that the issues cannot be solved with a single, massive piece of legislation that few understand. They delivered a serious blow to those living in the hope of immigration reform when they publicly stated at the end of January that they would not go to a conference with the Senate’s immigration bill,” he continued. “The recent comments by the Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration, Bishop Eusebio Elizondo will continue to give our ‘Undocumented’ Irish in America a glimmer of hope. The Bishop did express reservations about the requirement that border enforcement targets are met prior to immigrants receiving legal status. “The process of meeting border security goals could take years, continuing to leave millions vulnerable to deportation and he was not happy with the some of the proposals by the Republicans particularly the one that would confer legal status, and not a path to citizenship, to the undocumented in the country.

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