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

489. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to set out the status of the proposed immigration reform legislation in the US; if he made contact with Senators or Members of the House of Representatives since the recent United States Supreme Court decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22613/16]

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

490. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the discussions he has had with the United States authorities and Irish emigrant support groups following the decision of the US Supreme Court on the proposed immigration reform legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22614/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 489 and 490 together.

While I must respect the decision of the US Supreme Court on this matter, I am very disappointed that planned measures by the US Administration to improve the situation for undocumented Irish in the United States have effectively been stalled by the Court’s decision last month on President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration.

The Supreme Court split evenly on whether to lift the block placed on implementation of President Obama’s November 2014 Executive Orders on immigration. Given there was no majority, the decision of the lower Court stands and the Executive Orders cannot be implemented.

Had they been implemented, the measures proposed by President Obama would have benefitted some of the Irish undocumented who met the criteria under the proposed Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) programme, allowing them to work and travel more freely in the US and generally plan their lives free from fear.

Achieving relief for undocumented Irish migrants in the US and agreement on a facility for future legal migration between Ireland and the US remains a key objective for the Government. Our Embassy in Washington and Consulates elsewhere in the US are very active in advocating for immigration reform while the issue is also regularly addressed in high level political contacts between Ireland and the US Government.

The Taoiseach discussed the prospects for immigration reform with Vice President Biden during his visit to Ireland last month. While in Washington for St. Patrick’s Day, the Taoiseach and I met President Obama, Vice President Biden, Speaker Ryan, Senator Schumer and other key Congressional contacts from both sides of the aisle. During these meetings we emphasised the plight of the undocumented Irish in the US and encouraged both Houses of Congress to work on a bipartisan basis towards a comprehensive package of immigration reform measures.

The current political environment in the United States is not particularly conducive to achieving the necessary political consensus that would facilitate the advancement in the short term of comprehensive immigration reform in the US Congress. Nevertheless, the Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and our Embassy in Washington, working closely with Irish American community leaders, continues to actively pursue all viable opportunities to advance immigration reform that would be of benefit to our citizens, with the US Administration, both political sides of the aisle in Congress and the US Embassy in Ireland.