Ms Aileen Leonard Dibra:

I thank the committee for inviting us to meet it and to provide an overview of the work of the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers as well as to discuss the current state of immigration in the United States. The coalition was established in 1996 to promote the welfare of Irish immigrants and serve as the umbrella organisation for Irish immigration centres throughout the United States. The coalition has 11 member centres from coast to coast that provide a unique array of services, outreach and assistance to Irish immigrants, prioritising confidentiality and cultural competency. The coalition strives to be a strong, cohesive and representative voice for the needs of its membership and the Irish diaspora at large. Through ongoing and generous support from the Government of Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs's emigrant support programme, the coalition collaborates with its membership to examine the needs of the Irish diaspora. Furthermore, the coalition supports its members to enhance the direct service work they provide to the Irish community by looking at best practice, information sharing, data collection, national reporting and the distribution of current accurate and reliable information in the areas of, for example, immigration services, J1 visa programming and professional learning.

Over the past four years, the coalition has led a highly successful and collaborative immigration analysis initiative in partnership with the Embassy of Ireland, Washington, DC, which was supported by a strategic diaspora fund of the Irish Government's then Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The programme has facilitated the provision of crucial and pertinent information on immigration policy changes and their impact on the Irish diaspora during the Trump Administration, and continues to do so now under the Biden Administration. As the embassy designated point of contact for current, accurate and reliable information for the Irish community, the coalition has produced and distributed: 38 community information advisories to the wider Irish community; 16 background documents providing in-depth analysis of immigration policy changes for use by the embassy and consulates, as well as Ministers and other Government officials; and 15 internal immigration briefings that streamlined information and accompanying resources for use by coalition membership as well as consular and embassy offices while providing support to clients. Finally, with the onset of Covid-19, the immigration analysis programme accordingly expanded its purview to include community information pieces on international travel protocols, federally mandated mask-wearing, vaccination information and member centre services.

My colleague, Mr. Stalhl, will continue.