Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

52. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there have been any recent developments in relation to the proposed immigration reform legislation in the United States Congress; if he expects this legislation to be advanced in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22032/14]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This is an issue to which I accord very high priority. I am conscious of the difficulties experienced by Irish citizens who are undocumented in the United States, and I have met and spoken with many of them on my working visits there, and also with the various groups who lobby on their behalf.Immigration reform and the challenges faced by our undocumented remain central to our bilateral engagement with the United States. The issue was discussed extensively during the Taoiseach’s St. Patrick’s Day visit to Washington DC in March.

In addition to substantive discussion of the issues with President Obama and Vice President Biden, the Taoiseach also discussed the prospects for progress with a range of other members of Congress including Speaker John Boehner; Congressman Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee which has responsibility for immigration legislation in the House; Congressman Paul Ryan; the Congressional Friends of Ireland; and Senator Patrick Leahy, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that oversaw the passage of the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform bill last June. The Taoiseach called in the strongest possible terms for Congress to show leadership and deal with the immigration issue now. I have also continued to raise the issue in my meetings with US political contacts, including with Congressman John Lewis, whom I met last month. In addition to direct engagement with political leaders, we continue to highlight Ireland’s interests in this area to other partners in the United States who may be able to support our objectives. For example, in Washington the Taoiseach highlighted the need for progress on immigration reform in his speeches to influential audiences including the US Chamber of Commerce and the American-Ireland Fund Gala, as well as to invited guests at the White House St. Patrick’s Day reception, the Ambassador’s St. Patrick’s Day reception and most importantly at the Speaker’s Lunch on Capitol Hill.

While we have been encouraged by feedback from both Democrats and Republicans indicating that there is now a growing consensus in favour of reform, it remains difficult to assess exactly when and how this might occur, not least in view of the upcoming mid-term U.S. Congressional elections. The Government has instructed Ambassador Anderson and her team, working with the Irish American lobby groups who have already put in such a great effort, to continue their programme of lobbying members of Congress to seize every opportunity to make immigration reform a reality.