Hibernian American News and Views

2012-02-08T12:45:00.001-08:00

Contraception, Catholics, and Obamacare

Rebecca Downs - 8 February 2012

It is no secret that Obama’s health care plan, known as Obamacare, has been a source for heavy debate all across the political spectrum. Whether you consider it a major victory for the belief that health care is a right, or consider it widely unconstitutional, you know it’s there. But with a bill that was over one thousand pages long, controversies and debate are not far off. Do we know what we should about it? Are we going to educate ourselves as to why it’s wrong for America as voters and patients, or are we just going to allow ourselves to remain ignorant?

Since its passing in Congress nearly two years ago, Obamacare has been featured several times in the news, and not all for positive reasons. The issue of taxes funding abortions with regards to the Hyde Amendment and similar conscience clauses have been a recurring theme, which is perhaps most noteworthy regards plans for the Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of Obamacare. If the president wished to get his agenda out there, he has pretty much done so. He has certainly made his legacy, but one that may prove to be the last legacy he will ever have. For when your administration tells religious groups “There is not a debate” and “The decision has been made” it shows that you care more about your own political agenda, at any cost. The presidential inauguration involves an oath swearing to protect the constitution. President Obama has done almost anything but that.

So while recent passing of health care laws have trampled upon not only the conscience clause, but the constitution as well, it only provides the Supreme Court with one more piece of evidence as to why this unconstitutional health care plan needs to go. This certainly affects us as voters as well as we are entering an election year. I myself am certainly appalled at how the White House thinks they can get away with such a law, but I am also surprised. Why is the president only further advertising why the law goes against everything that this nation stands for? Does he want to lose? In trying to find the silver lining in everything, at least the American people tired of this President’s agenda can point this out to voters who have not yet been able to realize how dangerous this administration really is.

What this new health care law involves is forcing Catholic institutions, including us at Fordham, to include health insurance which will cover birth control to employees, as well as students, and without co-payments. Now, it is well known that the Catholic Church opposes contraception as a tenant belief. People may argue that even Catholics have used forms of contraception, but the Church is still entitled to believe and teach what they wish. In an ideal world, one where the constitution is actually upheld, the Church does not have to fear the government encroaching on such beliefs.

Voters have mentioned that the Catholic Church and other critics of Obama’s health care criticize the law for specifically pro life reasons. It is no longer just about though. You don’t have to be pro life to realize that this health care damages religious freedom when it forces a private, religious institution to further its agenda. This nation has prided itself in including and upholding Freedom of Religion in its constitution. And likewise the Separation of Church and State is in place to protect religion from the government. There are countless examples of why many feel the Separation of Church and State is in place to protect this nation from becoming too religious. It is important to note though, perhaps the most important part of the Separation of Church and State is that it works both ways. You have a right to not practice religion, but you absolutely have a right to practice religion. And nobody, especially not the government, should tell you otherwise. That is the America I am proud to be a citizen of. Unfortunately, Obama is making my country a place I may not be able to recognize as a place that protects such a key value.

We could write this article all about debating abortion, contraception, pre-marital sex. Those debates are certainly nothing new, and we could debate them to death. Such a debate though is based off our own personal beliefs. We don’t want the government telling people they cannot be having sex with each other, but we should also likewise not want the government forcing private institutions to include birth control as forms of health care. I want and am lucky to have health care, but I do not want big government coming in and giving me contraception. The government is actually the last place where I want my forms of contraception to come from. And it’s not just that I think forcing an institution of the Church to do so is a crime and a shame, it very much actually is a crime and a shame.

Comment:

This blatant violation of our rights under the Constitution comes from the person who just last week flashed his toothy, likeable, schoolboy smile and announced to the citizens of this great nation, “I deserve a second term”. He is also the same person who, by virtue of the office that he holds, was invited to deliver the commencement speech at one of the most prestigious Catholic universities in America in total disregard of his abominable record on the abortion issue.

Many Catholics thought that it was an unforgivable mistake for the president of Notre Dame University to extend an invitation to him to deliver that speech and present him with an honorary degree. History has proven them right. If he does deserve a second term, I certainly hope that he does not achieve it on votes cast by the same 54% of Catholic voters who were smitten by his charm and his considerable oratory skills in 2008 and were rewarded with his very high level of arrogance and disdain for their strongly held religious beliefs.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2012-02-07T13:03:00.000-08:00

Open Letter to Gerry Adams , Danny Morrison Jim Gibney, Martin McGuinness, Tom Hartley, and Bik McFarlane.

We welcome the fact that Danny Morrision has broken his silence and has given some insight into the events of the first week of July 1981 concerning the hunger strike in Long Kesh. In that light we would like to ask a few questions in the hope of getting answers that may finally put to rest the events surrounding the tragic deaths of our loved ones.
Danny has stated that he relayed the contents of an offer to the PIRA prison OC, Bik McFarlane, on July 5 1981. Richard O'Rawe, the prison PRO, has said that Bik sent him down a comm detailing what was on offer, and that he said to Bik "Ta go leor ann.'' (There is enough there). This has been verified to some of our families by two ex-Blanketmen who had been there on the wing and heard the words. Also, Bik himself, in a press interview in 2009, finally admitted he had had a conversation with Richard, and that he thought the Brit offer was "amazing." In light of this, we must assume that Bik made his and Richard's views known to their outside leadership. What we would like to know is:

Q1 Why was this not accepted?
Q2 Who, on the outside overrode Bik's authority?
Q3 Why was the Hunger Strike allowed to continue, on direction from the outside (not the POWs)?
Q4 Mrs McDonnell asked Gerry Adams to save her son's life to end to the Hunger Strike by ordering the POWs off it. Mr Adams' reply was that he did not have the authority to do this. Who had the authority (Brendan McLaughlin was ordered off it due to his medical condition)?
Q6 Why was the IRSP (who were joint participants in the Hunger Strike) not informed about the offer through Mountain Climber?
Q7 The British sent you their offer (to be released upon the ending of the Hunger Strike) in the form of dictated statements on the 6th and 20th of July. Why were these statements never shown to the POWs?

Q8 Who took the decision to withhold the statements from the hunger strikers and the prison leadership?
Q9 On the 29th of July, Gerry Adams told the mother and father of Kieran Doherty, and the hunger strikers, that ''there was no deal on the table, no movement of any sort'' despite him being at the centre of on-going communications/negotiations with the Brits from July 4th to July 20th. Why did Adams deliberately mislead the hunger strikers? Did he think that they might call off their fast if they found out what was really happening? We should not forget that four of those men who listened and joked with Adams, went on to die horrible deaths in total ignorance of what the British were offering.

In Danny Morrison's recent letter he spoke of the 'families pain'. Danny can't even hope to imagine the pain felt by some of our families. We, the undersigned, believe that the Hunger Strike was prolonged when an honourable settlement was available, a settlement that would have saved the lives of six brave men.
We called for an independent inquiry three years ago, asking all those involved in this matter to attend. Only Richard O'Rawe and the late Dr. Garrett FitzGerald said they would attend. We once again call for on Gerry Adams, Danny Morrison, Jim Gibney, Martin McGuinness, Tom Hartley, and BikMcFarlane to attend. The least we deserve, is a reason why they won't attend, and failing that, they could provide answers to our above questions

Is sinne

Peggy and Tony O Hara. Michael and Louise Devine

Comment:

The letter above was sent to me with a request to circulate it here in the U.S. by my friend Tony O’Hara and his mother. Peggy and Tony O’Hara are the mother and brother of Patsy O’Hara, the fourth brave, young Irish patriot to die in the 1981 Hunger Strike in Long Kesh Concentration Camp. In light of some of the recent revelations that have been made public regarding the circumstances surrounding that horrific tragedy, it does not seem unreasonable to honor his request to circulate this letter. Each person who reads the letter should form his/her own opinion.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2012-02-01T14:03:00.001-08:00

New move means Irish E3 visa bill now likely to pass senate

‘No reason not to pass this bill’ -- Senator Chuck Schumer

Niall O’Dowd - IrishCentral - February 1, 2012

The prospects of passage for an E-3 visa bill allowing up to 10,000 Irish a year to come and work permanently in the U.S. have increased dramatically this week.

On Tuesday New York Senator Charles Schumer hotlined the bill in the Senate, meaning that he is seeking unanimous consent for its passage.

The bill, known informally as the Schumer/Leahy/Durbin bill, is attached to other legislation which would allow more skilled hi-tech workers from China, India and Mexico into the U.S.

In its original form, without the Irish component, the hi-tech bill passed the House 319-14, with Silicon Valley companies in particular playing a major lobbying role.

However, when that bill came to the Senate, Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa placed a hold on it. The Irish lobby then became involved, demanding an Irish E-3 bill.

Reacting to that, Schumer introduced the Irish amendment which would allow the E-3 visas.
E-3s are temporary work visas that allow individuals or married couples to come to U.S. with a job offer and work legally for two years at a time. The visa is indefinitely renewable.

Fifty-three U.S. senators, all Democrats, signed up to support it, while it is believed that up to eight Republican senators are now also in favor.

The bill hotlined on Tuesday has removed the automatic waiver for those who are undocumented.

But former Congressman Bruce Morrison, who is the chief lobbyist on the Irish side, stated that discretionary waivers could still be achieved even under the current law.

Morrison rated chances for passage of the current bill as “better than 50/50,” but stated chances were “very good” for an overall or revised bill at some point.

Attention now switches to the Republicans in the Senate, where up to eight senators led by Scott Brown of Massachusetts have indicated that they are in favor of the bill, which would give it a filibuster-proof majority.

Attention will be focused on Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader who will be key in getting the bill passed.

Martin Brennan, New York State director for Schumer, has appealed for Irish Americans to lobby local senators to help pass the bill.

“Senator Schumer is very committed to this legislation,” he said. “We truly believe we can get it passed.”

In a statement to Irish Central Senator Schumer said “The time is now to pass this common-sense bill that improves the fairness and efficiency of our immigration system, while also including a mutual visa exchange with America’s long-time ally, Ireland.

Comment:

This watered down debacle is a classic example of "St. Patrick'sDay is coming give them something to keep them quiet” except in this case, the something might as well be nothing without the waiver provision. It was was the only thing in Schumer's Bill S-1983 that made it anywhere near acceptable. Without it, our undocumented Irish nationals have been made “collateral damage” once again. Contrary to the first sentence in the article above, there is nothing permanent about the E-3 Visas. They are temporary non-immigrant work permits. This bill is an absolute disgrace foisted upon those whom we were all originally pledged to support.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2012-01-29T11:57:00.001-08:00

U.S. Obligations to UK under Terms of MLAT

Academic freedom is a legally meaningless “quasi-privilege,” and BC’s attempt to apply protected status to academic research makes “no claim of a cognizable federal privilege” Academic researchers have fewer protections against compulsory disclosure than journalists, since “the courts have long recognized the unique role which news reporters play in our constitutional system.” In contrast, “the limited protections afforded news reporters in the context of a grand jury subpoena should be greater than those to be afforded academics engaged in the collection of oral history” Journalism is a protected activity; academic research is not.

While the courts have no discretion in considering subpoenas issued pursuant to MLATs, the executive branch doesn’t have much, either: “In this case, the US-UK MLAT requires that, ‘the Requested Party shall take whatever steps it deems necessary to give effect to requests received from the Requesting Party’…Under the US-UK MLAT, the United States is obligated to obtain the requested documentary evidence in this instance and provide it to the authorities in the UK”

Conclusion:

When foreign governments that have entered into MLATs with the United States wish to demand access to confidential academic research materials, the executive branch is compelled by treaty obligations to say yes, the courts have no discretion to say no, and “academic freedom” is a meaningless claim.

Comment:

Much has been written and many opinions rendered regarding the subpoena request by the British government acting on behalf of the PSNI to compel Boston College to surrender certain information contained on tapes which are part of the “Belfast Project”. Above is outlined the obligations imposed upon the U.S. as a result of being a party to a Mutual Lateral Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with the UK. It seems very clear from the above that “academic freedom” is a legally meaningless claim and the executive branch of our government is compelled by treaty obligations to honor the British request. These international treaty obligations, unfortunately, would certainly “trump” any amount of intervention by American politicians to quash the subpoena request regardless of alleged consequences. This leaves only one solution and that is for the request to be withdrawn by the PSNI by whatever means are necessary.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2012-01-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

Federal Judge Dismisses Case to Block Release of IRA Tapes from Boston College

NEWTON – A federal judge today dismissed a lawsuit by two developers of a Boston College oral history project who sought to block the release of interviews with former members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army to British authorities investigating a decades-old murder.

In a brief hearing, US District Judge William G. Young dismissed the suit brought by former IRA member Anthony McIntyre and Irish journalist Ed Moloney, a researcher and director, respectively, of the Belfast Project, a series of interviews with former IRA members and others about the sectarian strife in Northern Ireland.

“My big problem is with the standing of your clients,” Young told a lawyer for the men, James Cotter, during the hearing.

Young said the men could not act as parties against the subpoena for the tapes brought by federal prosecutors in Boston on behalf of British authorities, because of a treaty that requires both nations to share information that will aid in criminal inquiries.

Cotter argued that the US attorney general did not consider the perils of releasing the materials when he issued the subpoena. He said the First Amendment rights of Moloney, a US citizen, would be violated if the documents are released.

Lawyers for the men have also argued that the safety of McIntyre and his family could be endangered if the tapes are delivered to British law enforcement.

Coincidentally, the hearing was held at Boston College Law School under a long-standing practice of the federal court to bring court proceedings to various law schools.

After today’s hearing, McIntyre’s wife, Carrie Twomey, lashed out at the college, which has distanced itself from the lawsuit brought by the two men.

“Boston College are cowards!” Twomey shouted as she was being escorted from the building by campus police.

The fate of the recordings of the interviews remains uncertain.

British authorities are seeking them to aid in their investigation of the 1972 abduction and murder of Jean McConville, a mother of ten in Belfast whom the IRA has admitted to killing because she was suspected of being an informant.

Last month, Young ordered BC to turn over recordings of former IRA member Dolours Price, who has admitted to her involvement in the murders and disappearances of at least four people, including McConville.

The university had initially balked but complied with the order, but an appeals court blocked prosecutors from turning over the Price materials to the British authorities pending further review. Further arguments on the Price recordings are scheduled for March.

And last week, Young ordered BC to turn over more interviews from the project, an order that the university has said it may appeal.

In a statement, BC declined to comment on today’s ruling from Young on the lawsuit brought by Moloney and McIntyre.

In a related development, US Senator John Kerry on Monday sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking her to work with British authorities to “reconsider the path they have chosen and revoke their request.”

Kerry wrote that the peace process in Northern Ireland could be harmed by the release of the tapes, an argument that lawyers for McIntyre and Moloney have also raised.

“It would be a tragedy if this process were to upset the delicate balance that has kept the peace and allowed for so much progress in the past 14 years,” Kerry wrote to Clinton.

Comment:

Now that this issue has enjoyed its one day of fame in the press, perhaps it is time to look at it with the sometimes cruel eye of reality. It has become quite evident from his past and most current rulings that U.S. Federal Court Judge William G. Young has every intention of adhering to the subpoena request and more importantly to the US/UK Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty regardless of intervention by politicians. The chances of his rulings being overturned on appeal are “slim to none”.

Does this mean that the case is lost? Absolutely not. The official transfer of policing and justice powers from Westminster to the Stormont government became effective on 12 April 2010. This means that the PSNI has been under the control of and accountable to the Stormont government since that date. We have been led to believe that the request to subpoena the Belfast Project tapes from Boston College originated from the PSNI. Assuming that this is true, why hasn’t the Stormont government applied whatever amount of pressure is needed to the PSNI to withdraw their subpoena request and allow the entire problem to be resolved in Ireland instead of here in the U.S. If this were done, any perceived threat to the stability of the peace process in Ireland would be removed. Also, the confidentiality agreement between Boston College and the Belfast Project researchers could remain intact and the information contained in the tapes would be sealed until after the death of all those who were interviewed.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2012-01-17T07:59:00.001-08:00

Hunger-striker's daughter denounces Sinn Féin

Suzanne Breen - Sunday World – 16 January 2012

The daughter of a H-Block hunger-striker has slammed the Sinn Féin leadership claiming they let her father "die for nothing".

Louise Devine says she's "sickened" that the party top brass allegedly rejected a secret British offer which could have saved the last six hunger-strikers' lives – including her father's.

The claim that a substantial British proposal was on the table – first made by ex-Blanketman Richard O'Rawe – was confirmed by recently released British state papers.

Louise Devine is now demanding an urgent meeting with Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and other key republicans who ran the hunger-strike from the outside.

"I want answers. I'm asking them to meet me face-to-face. They owe me that at the very least," she told the Sunday World.

"I was just five-years-old when I watched my daddy die in agony in a H-Block slum.

"I sat on his bed and he couldn't even see me and my brother because he was blind. I remember the tears running down his face as we left him for the last time."

The Devines are the first family of a dead hunger-striker to denounce the Sinn Féin leadership following recent revelations.

"There's now a mountain of evidence backing Richard O'Rawe's claim that the British made an offer effectively granting four of the prisoners' five demands and that this offer was accepted by the IRA's prison leadership but rejected by the outside leadership," Louise says.

"Had the British proposal been accepted, my father would be alive today. Instead he spent 60 agonising days as his body wasted away on hunger-strike.

"He died for nothing because the British were already willing to meet nearly all the prisoners' demands."

Sinn Féin strongly denies allegations an offer existed which could have saved the men's lives and it unnecessarily prolonged the hunger-strike for electoral gain.

But Louise (35) says she's "beyond anger" at those republicans who reportedly rejected the offer: "How do they live with themselves?

"They knew the suffering the hunger-strikers endured and the filth and squalor in which they lived. They're cold, heartless men."

Mickey Devine, a 27-year-old father of two – know as 'Red Mickey' because of his bright red hair and left-wing politics – was the last of the 10 hunger-strikers to die.

Louise claims Sinn Féin didn't inform her father, nor the INLA of which he was a member, of the secret British offer. "Had daddy known, he would have ended his hunger-strike.

"He was a young man with two children he adored and less than two years left to serve in jail. He'd everything to live for."

Mother-of-five Louise stresses she's "very proud" of her father and his sacrifice: "He died for his comrades. But the knowledge that he didn't need to is destroying me."

She's calling for an independent public inquiry into the hunger-strike: "Sinn Féin demands inquiries into everything that suits them. Let's see if they agree to this."

Louise was just five months' old when her father was arrested for arms' possession in 1977. "As a baby, the prison officers searched my nappy on visits to Long Kesh.

"When I was older, I hated visiting the jail. The screws were very aggressive to Blanketmen's children." Louise's parents' marriage broke up when her father was in prison but she and her brother continued seeing him.

"When he was on the dirty protest, I was afraid of him at first," she admits. "Here was this skinny, smelly man with a beard wearing an old army blanket – and people told me he was my daddy.

"I cried and threw a tantrum, refusing to sit on his knee during one visit, and he looked so sad."

But Louise says her father did everything possible to reach out to her and her brother, Michael og: "He couldn't buy us presents in jail so he made us hankies. They were all he could give us."

She breaks down in tears as she shows the Sunday World one hankie. On it, her father has drawn Mickey Mouse, Tom and Jerry, the Seven Dwarfs and other cartoon characters. "To Louise and Michael from Daddy," Mickey Devine has lovingly written.

Another hankie shows her father and his comrades with faces like monkeys. "Despite everything he was suffering, he was trying to make his kids laugh. He loved us that much," Louise says.

She remembers, in graphic detail, visiting her dying father in the prison hospital. She was only five-years-old and her brother was eight.

"Daddy was lying in bed, covered in bed sores, and in terrible pain. I climbed onto the bed to be near him and my Aunt Margaret said, 'Get down, you'll hurt him.'

"But daddy said in this wee weak voice you could hardly hear, 'She's all right, let her be.' He was just delighted I wasn't scared of him anymore. He held me close and I was so happy."

But Louise is riddled with guilt too: "I remember somebody feeling sorry for me and giving me a bag of cheese and onion crisps when I was on the bus going to the jail.

"I visited daddy stinking of those crisps. How selfish that was of me when he was starving.

"The prison authorities kept a bowl of fruit by his bed. I longed for the big red shiny apple. I knew not to take it but I feel guilty for even wanting it."

Her last visit to her dying father was heart-breaking: "Daddy's organs were collapsing. There was a terrible smell of his rotting flesh as his body broke down.

"He was blind so he couldn't see me or my brother. We sat beside him and he was told, 'Michael is on your left and Louise is on your right'. He held our hands and then he reached up and felt the shape of our faces.

"I remember his cold, skinny hand on my flesh. He mumbled words to us which I couldn't understand. He was drifting in and out of consciousness. His eyes were half open. As we left, tears streamed down his face.

"Michael and I should have been allowed to stay with him to the end. At his wake, I wouldn't leave his coffin."

The children were woken at 8am on August 20 1981 to be told that their father was dead. They were terrified as the INLA fired shots over his coffin. At the graveside, they threw red roses on his coffin.

The rest of Louise's childhood was "hell", she says: "Michael and I were bullied at school. 'Your daddy rubbed shit on his cell wall', 'Your da starved himself to death', other kids shouted.

"We'd come home crying and not go back to school for a week." On her birthday, first communion and Christmas, she'd envy other children "with their intact families and perfect lives".

Mickey Devine's own life – even before prison – was tragic. When he was 11, his father died of leukaemia. A few years later, he came home to find his mother dead from a massive brain tumour.

"Daddy had no family," says Louise. "I've five children. My wee boy Caolan is the image of his grandfather with his red hair and sense of humour. I just want daddy here now to be part of my family. But we've been robbed of him and he's been robbed of us."

Comment:

The late Billy Thompkins was a very active member of Friends of Irish Freedom in Boston for many years. Billy met and later married Margaret, Mickey Devine’s sister, when she came here to Boston several years ago with a group from Derry to participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. They were both active in the Irish American community and good friends of mine. Margaret, better known as Mags, was never one to hide her feelings and often said that she believed there was much more to the Hunger Strikes of 1981 than that which “met the eye of the public”. Her opinion was shared by the family of Mickey's fellow hunger striker, Patsy O'Hara and others. However, anybody who reads stories such as this from family members and books like “Blanketmen” are left to form their own opinion based on any available information and because of the fact that there are two sides to every story and the whole unvarnished truth will, in all probability, never be known.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2012-01-05T22:34:00.001-08:00

AOH Statement on Proposed E-3 Visa Programs

The Ancient Order of Hibernians is this week praising the emergence of not one, but two bills in Congress that promise E-3 renewable visas to Irish applicants.

In a statement, The order avoided placing itself in between the two bills, one offered by Senate Democrats, and the other by Senate Republicans, and instead focused on the reasons why Ireland should be the recipient of an E-3 visa deal, much in the way that Australia secured one a few years ago.

The statement, signed by National President Seamus Boyle, and Dan Dennehy, the order’s national immigration chairman, reiterated that since its inception 175 years ago, the AOH has been active in working to improve the lives of Irish immigrants.

The statement, which is reproduced here in its near entirety said: “Now celebrating our 175th year, we continue to live up to the preamble of the AOH Constitution which requires that we encourage an equitable U.S. Immigration law for Ireland, and to cooperate with all groups for a fair American immigration policy.

“In the 1960s, AOH members participated in an effort to prevent removal of the quota of Irish visas by the Immigration Act of 1965. Those concerns were proven as successive economic downturns have left many of the Irish without the option to emigrate legally to the U.S. In the last 25 years, AOH has worked with the Irish Immigration Reform Movement, Irish Lobby For Immigration Reform, as well as many other organizations and government officials from the two nations, and elsewhere, to rectify the quota and restore the important cultural exchange between Ireland and the U.S.

“Current events and developments prove our understanding of the need to work with others to meet this goal. One of the great developments of the recent weeks was a videoconference and one week later a teleconference facilitated by the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers and the Irish embassy.

“In cities across the U.S., Irish immigration advocates, in many cases seeing and speaking live to each other for the first time, shared ideas on the recent moves by Congress.

“AOH, ILIR and Rep. Bruce Morrison, Boston Irish and Chicago Celts and several other advocacy groups outlined recent work towards an Irish E3 and concerns for the undocumented. We look forward to working with all of the groups towards a successful outcome.

“The second and more immediate development is the introduction of two bills that propose an Irish E3. The first bill was proposed by Senators Schumer, Leahy and Durbin and it was quickly followed by the Irish Immigration and Encouragement Act sponsored by Republican Senators Brown (MA) and Kirk (IL).

“While neither bill solves the undocumented issue, they do address future flow from Ireland. The bills would modify the E3 visa, currently available to only Australia and a few select countries. The modifications would recognize Ireland’s excellent education system and allows Irish Nationals with a ‘leaving cert’ or two years experience in a trade to apply for 10,500 two year renewable visas. We are grateful to the sponsors of both of these bills for their recognition of the longstanding inequities relating to immigration from Ireland.

“Right now, AOH members across the U.S. are meeting and reaching out to their U.S. representatives and senators as part of the initiative to secure “the Irish E3 Visa.” The AOH maintains that Ireland has been extremely supportive to U.S. Homeland Security and Defense with the Shannon Stopover of U.S. Troops coming and going from the War On Terror and the innovations of U.S. Customs and Immigration at Ireland’s Shannon and Dublin airports.

“We are asking Congress to thank Ireland with an E3 as it had Australia in 2005. In this way, with 10,500 annual renewable visas, a secure and legal path to immigration will be restored, preventing the need for Irish people to seek less desirable methods to escape the current economic hardships in Ireland and strengthen the bond between our two nations.”

Comment:

Brothers,

Since the passage of the Donnelly NP-5 and Morrison AA-1 Visa Programs in the 1980's the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America have been strongly in favor and strongly in support of immigration reform legislation which would permanently resolve the plight of our undocumented Irish nationals currently residing in the U.S. Neither of the bills that were submitted recently by Senators Schumer and Brown do anything at all to address those problems. Furthermore, the E-3 Visa is a non-immigrant temporary visa (or more accurately a temporary work permit) which does not allow the holder to adjust his/her status to that of a permanent resident alien. It gives precedence to college graduates who have not yet emigrated here over our undocumented Irish who have been living here for years. Unless and until a bill is submitted that specifically addresses a permanent resolution to the plight of our relatives, friends, neighbors, and Brother Hibernians who are living here out of status, the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America should not allow themselves to be fooled into supporting any bill such as those filed by Schumer and Brown that promise far less.

Yours in our Motto,

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2012-01-04T10:28:00.001-08:00

A Question of Priorities

In accordance with a resolution which was enthusiastically and unanimously passed at our AOH/LAOH National Convention in Boston in 2006, an AOH National Board Committee for Veterans Affairs was created. It was also unanimously approved by the delegates that the sum of $5,000 would be donated by our National Board to agencies providing services to veterans of our own American armed forces. The newly formed committee under the leadership of Chairman John J. Kelly with the approval of our National Board determined that the initial amount would be distributed equally between the Archdiocese for the Military Services and the Wounded Warriors Project. It was my distinct honor, as our National President, to accompany our National Board Chairman of Veterans Affairs when the checks were presented with our sincere hope that they would be, hopefully, the first of many such donations from the members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America.

Once again at our National Convention in New Orleans in 2008, the legendary generosity of our members was evident when, in response to another resolution, they enthusiastically approved a similar amount to be donated to our National Committee for Veterans Affairs. We can be justly proud of our members, many of whom are veterans themselves, for recognizing the needs of our American veterans, young and old, and responding so generously to those needs. In the intervening time this very worthy cause has been taken up by several AOH State and County Boards, Divisions, and individual members. The troubling aspect is that, to the best of my knowledge, in the nearly four years since, there have been no further donations made by our AOH National Board for distribution by the National Committee for Veterans Affairs. The obvious question has to be - Why?

It seems to me that either our Annual National Board Christmas Appeal or our Hibernian Charity, or both, would be perfect vehicles to make donations to provide much needed assistance to agencies that provide services to our own American veterans, many of whom have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with life altering injuries sustained in service to the United States of America.

There seems to be a widely accepted opinion among our members that all of the money donated by our members to our National Board Christmas Appeal each year must be donated to charities in the North of Ireland. This is simply not true. Our State and County Boards, Divisions, and individual members when making donations to the Christmas Appeal or the Hibernian Charity are perfectly within their rights and, very frankly, should be encouraged to specify which charities are to be the recipients of their generosity.

We can be very proud of the fact that our AOH National Board Christmas Appeal for many years provided aid and comfort to the dependents of political prisoners in the North when husbands and fathers were imprisoned for their political beliefs. We also agreed that our help would continue through a transitional period following their release in accordance with the Good Friday Agreement. But, as in every case of recovery, there comes a time when those receiving help from others must take the initiative and provide the necessary steps to complete their own recovery. Eleven years after the closing of Long Kesh and similar institutions where political prisoners were incarcerated should certainly be more than enough time for them to have taken those steps.

The dismal percentage of Divisions that have donated to the Annual Christmas Appeal in recent years may be indicative of the feelings of the membership that perhaps it is time to diversify our donations and identify other worthy recipients for our charitable works. It should be kept in mind that even though our members are extremely proud of their Irish heritage and strive to preserve all aspects of it here in the United States, the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America is an American charitable organization.

Many in our membership are several generations removed from our ancestral homeland. Indeed, many have never set foot in Ireland. Therefore our charitable donations should include worthy causes here at home and throughout the economically depressed island of Ireland. Here at home, I refer specifically to those agencies providing services to our own American freedom fighters., Charity begins at home and we, as Americans, should never miss an opportunity to help those who gave so much to preserve our precious freedom and our cherished American way of life. All gave some, some gave all!

Please give very careful thought to the enormous sacrifices that these valiant young men and women have made for us and exercise your right to specify the recipients of your generosity!

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-12-24T04:55:00.000-08:00

U.S. military plane vandalized at Shannon airport

Irish protesters object to US military presence there

ANTOINETTE KELLY, - Irish Central Staff Writer - December 23, 2011

An aircraft used to transport US troops has been damaged in the latest security breach at Shannon airport in Ireland.

A hole was cut in a perimeter fence which allowed vandals access to the Omni Air International DC-10 airliner, where they severed its hydraulics pipe and spray painted the words the words 'US troops out.'

As the aircraft was a replacement plane it was not protected by Irish police or soldiers.

The latest attack comes eight years after a US Navy cargo jet was vandalized twice in a matter of days by Irish anti-war campaigners. At the time the incident forced the Government to provide a greater security presence at the airport.

Comment:

When are the nit-wits that commit blatant acts of vandalism against privately owned American aircraft and participate in obnoxious demonstrations against American troops ever going to learn? They are biting the hand that feeds them and are on a fast track to the #1 spot on the “stupid meter”. Many of the American troops that their demonstrations are aimed against are sons and daughters and close relatives of their own Irish diaspora and are serving our country with honor and distinction. They can’t have it both ways. They can’t be constantly coming to the U.S. seeking favors and money and then turn around and involve themselves in this very offensive behavior. It will not be tolerated much longer even by those Americans who bend over backwards to help them in so many ways. They would be very well advised to “smarten up” before it is too late.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

Irish businessman is released from immigration jail

2011-12-18T06:47:00.000-08:00

Irish businessman is released from immigration jail

Relives nightmare experience after two weeks in confinement

Niall O’Dowd, - IrishCentral - December 16, 2011

The nightmare of being plucked from your day to day life and jailed for an indefinite period, not knowing what will become of you, is one most of us will never experience.

A young Irishman picked up outside his home and held for deportation which I wrote about on Thursday experienced that dreadful fate.

I cannot name him for safety reasons but I am pleased to report that has been released from jail where he was being held on the immigration charges.

He has been given a date on which he is to leave the country and his business and successful life behind him.

As we talked he told me he was making every effort with his wife to avoid that fate.

The odds are probably stacked against him but he will make every effort.” I love this country, it has been great to me and my wife, I really want my unborn child to live here and experience how amazing it is “ he said.

As I reported the businessman, who employs 20 workers and whose wife is pregnant, was picked up and jailed, despite the fact that he had no police record was not wanted for any other crime and had simply taken the same path to success in America as millions of Irish before.

However, as he explained to me in an exclusive interview his world came crashing down when he was ready to drive to work one morning two weeks ago.

Armed agents from homeland security were outside his house . For a second he though they were regular police, coming to tell him they had traced the person who was using his stolen credit cards which he had reported.

But they were immigration agents who had traced him after someone turned him in as undocumented.

They has actually visited a previous address in Yonkers seeking him on two different occasions.

He still remembers the sense of fear and dread as the perfectly courteous officers placed him in a car and drove him to jail in Manhattan. “I did not know what would become of me “ he told me .
Ahead was a two week nightmare as he sought to make sense of his predicament .

He had gone in minutes from being a successful businessman with a great future to a name and a number in the American prison system

After spending two days in Manhattan he was transferred to a jail in New Jersey as his wife and friends frantically tried to pin down his location.

The first night he will never forget as he shared a cell with a prisoner who snored so loudly he was completely unable to sleep.

Soon he became attuned to daily life. He did not feel threatened, though he was one of a very fewwhite people being held, the guards he felt were business like and did not hassle him. The terrible uncertainty however gnawed at him.

Outside his wife and friends were frantically trying to find a way to get him released. PresidentObama had recently announced that only criminal aliens would be targeted by the ICE, the immigration and customs enforcement agency .

Why then was a young man who was providing extensive employment in New York, an upstanding member of the community, suddenly finding himself in prison?

We may never know why but on Wednesday after two weeks behind bars he was suddenly told to pack his things and to get ready to leave right away.

He though he was being deported there and then when he sat into the vehicle driving him away from the prison. Instead they told him he was being released and gave him the date when he is supposed to leave the country by.

He is deeply thankful to all who helped get him back to normal. Typically, he was back at work the next day, thankful for the politicians and Irish community leaders who tried to intervene.

“I so much want to stay, to build my life here with my wife and our children” he said.

Whether he will ever be able to achieve that remains a huge question mark.

Comment:

Unfortunately, this is not an exception to the rule. It goes on every day of the week as attested to by the agencies in cities throughout the U.S. that provide services for Irish immigrants. They are routinely apprehended for minor infractions, detained for extended periods of time in jails with hardened criminals, and eventually deported. There will, most likely, be no change in this abhorrent practice whether or not either of the recently submitted immigration bills, both of which are based on the Australian E-3 visa program, is passed. The E-3 is an employment based non immigrant (temporary) visa which gives precedence to college graduates in specialty fields who wish to emigrate to the U.S. They do little or nothing to address the plight of our undocumented Irish nationals currently residing in the U.S. Unless and until their plight is recognized, addressed, and permanently resolved, these apprehensions, detentions, and deportations will continue unabated and will probably be intensified. It is time for those Americans who never hesitate to proclaim their Irishness to step up to the plate and do something to help our own in their time of need!!!

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-12-12T07:08:00.000-08:00

Senator Schumer set to introduce immigration bill in Senate to help Irish

Bill would allow up to 10,000 non-immigrant work visas yearly for Irish

Niall O’Dowd, IrishCentral - December 10, 2011, 7:34 AM

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is set to introduce an immigration bill in the senate on Tuesday which would allow up to 10,000 Irish a year to come to America on work visas but not green cards.

Schumer says that leading Democrats Senator Pat Leahy and Senator Richard Durbin will co-sponsor the legislation and he is seeking support from Republican senators as well.

The Schumer move came after he met with 20 Irish community leaders at his New York office on Friday.

The Irish community leaders had expressed their dismay that a bill that passed the House two weeks ago and is now in the senate, allowed more green cards for Chinese, Indian, Filipino and Mexican immigrants but actually took away green cards from Ireland.

The new Schumer move is based on the E3 visas, which were given to Australia some years ago for their support in the Gulf War. Under the terms of the visa up to 10,000 Australians a year can come to America once they have a job offer and can renew their non-immigrant visas indefinitely.

Schumer’s bill would introduce the same House bill that passed two weeks ago in the senate with the E3 visas added.

In the senate Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa has stated that he will oppose the original bill and not allow it expedited passage but there is mounting pressure on the Iowa Republican to let it pass.

Schumer stated that if the bill did not pass he would work on a different bill for next years’ legislative session that would help the Irish.

Bart Murphy, head of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform who flew from San Francisco to be part of the meeting stated afterwards he was very satisfied with the hour-long session.

“We know we have a great friend in Senator Schumer,” he said “and we look forward to the introduction of the new bill. We will work with Irish organizations across the US too bring pressure to bear on legislators to pass it.”

Key Republican senators such as Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, Scott Brown in Massachusetts and Marco Rubio in Florida will be especially targeted by Irish lobby members.

Comment:

It is a sad testimonial to the so called friends of the Irish in Congress if this is the best that can be done to alleviate the plight of our undocumented Irish nationals currently residing in the United States. In actual fact, it would give precedence to prospective Irish immigrants with college degrees and the promise of a job here and does nothing for those that are already here in an undocumented status. The hue and cry since the ILIR was established in 2005 has been “Legalize the Irish”. For the uninitiated, that expression was in reference to those already living here out of status, not those who had yet to leave Ireland. The resulting groundswell of enthusiasm was in anticipation of a campaign to pass legislation that would once and for all resolve the plight of undocumented Irish nationals who had come here out of shear desperation because their own country could not support them. What has happened to that noble effort? Is it going to be abandoned for an E-3 non-immigrant (temporary) type visa program which does absolutely nothing to resolve the plight of our undocumented Irish and, once again, leave the intended recipients of our original goal on the outside looking in? If so, all of our efforts have been a failure and we should all be ashamed of ourselves.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-12-07T07:52:00.000-08:00

Irish frozen out of a new green card bill in Congress

Will lose out to China, India, Philipines and Mexico

NIALL O'DOWD - December 7, 2011, 7:28 AM

A green card bill that will be a bonanza for Indian, Chinese, Latino and Filipino immigrants is making its way through Congress and has passed the House of Representatives.

It will have the impact of denying green cards to other countries, including Ireland,as a new quota will give more to the countries listed above.

This is from The New York Times last week: “The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that tweaks the visa system to allow more highly skilled immigrants from India and China to become legal permanent residents.

“The legislation also includes a measure that will more than double the green cards based on family ties available for Mexicans and Filipinos, the two national groups facing the longest backlogs on the family side of the system. It raises the country limit for 226,000 family green cards each year to 15 percent from the current seven percent.

“The bill seemed likely to pass easily in the Senate, said Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, a leading Democrat on immigration.”

There you have it, for all those bleeding heart Irish individuals who have always said the Irish should never, ever seek to do a deal for their own immigrants.

Such people usually cite the Hispanics as the ones we must wait for in order to all win comprehensive immigration reform together.

One thing I’m certain of -- neither the Hispanics, the Filipinos or the Indians or Chinese were worried about Irish concerns when they went ahead and bent Congress to their will on this issue last week.

Funny, isn’t it, that many Irish adopt this respectful strategy of waiting for comprehensive while other countries know full well it is an utter pipe dream.

They get on with it and are proving successful as the above story makes abundantly clear.

Indeed, they will hit the number of Irish green cards available because Mexico and the Philippines have just carved up more visas for themselves, which will leave countries like Ireland with less.

Don’t get me wrong -- I’m not blaming the various governments or lobbyists or politicians who put this together. More power to them, I say, if they can help their own people.

But I am criticizing those in the Irish American sphere who have long claimed that we, meaning the Irish, could never move on our own in case we offended some people.

Well, guess what? We Irish, with our own undocumented problem and thousands fleeing Ireland every month, just got “offended” by this – and it doesn’t matter a whit.

This is a done deal and the Irish are no part of it mainly because of a reluctance to even express our wishes.

Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois signed onto this bill after years of saying comprehensive only.

Gutierrez said, “We need bigger fixes to our legal immigration system so that employers and families use official channels, not black-market ones. We want people to go through the system, not around it.”

Yes indeed, we agree with the congressman on that score.

Schumer also thinks the aforementioned House bill is a good thing and I firmly believe it is as well -- if you are from one of those countries.

It is high time we woke up again to this reality, that without concerted pressure we will never get action on immigration.

It ultimately involves the Irish government and the Irish American community standing and working together.

So what are we waiting for?

Comment:

They say that “politics make strange bedfellows”. For the past 30 years, Niall O’Dowd and I have labored in the vineyards on the issue of Irish immigration and in all that time we have usually had opposing points of view regarding how to resolve the issue. However, I would not only be remiss but also less than honest if I did not say that I am, for the most part, in agreement with his views expressed in the article above. The Irish immigration issue can and must be resolved if our cherished heritage is to survive in the chosen homeland of countless thousands of the Irish diaspora. It must begin with a permanent resolution to the plight of our undocumented Irish nationals from all 32 counties of Ireland. The next step would be to work on the passage of legislation that would guarantee an annual quota of legal Irish immigrants thus insuring the survival of our treasured Irish heritage in the greatest country on earth.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-10-30T09:21:00.000-07:00

Elected: Michael D Higgins - Ireland's most anti-American President

Today Ireland elected Michael D Higgins as president. Higgins, who lived and worked in America 40 years ago, is the most anti-American president Ireland has ever had.

As an American living in Ireland it has been clear to me that since the early 1980s Higgins has been among the most outspoken opponents of American policy in Ireland. He's been at the forefront of organized protests and rallies directed at America for 30 years.

In the 1980s it was President Reagan that riled Higgins. During Reagan's short visit in June 1984 Higgins was a keen participant in the protests against Reagan at Shannon Airport, in Galway and then outside the Dáil (parliament) in Dublin when Reagan was speaking there.

During the 90s Higgins was opposed to the Gulf War and opposed various aspects of America's defense policies during the Clinton years.

Flash-forward to the Bush years. In the run-up to the Iraq war, Higgins was with the majority of Irish people in opposing the war, but he went further than most here when he declared that the American military was going to "wage war on a civilian population." Visions of American war crimes came easily to him. When the fighting started he denounced the Irish government's policy on allowing American troop planes to land and refuel at Shannon.

While he hasn't been a fan of a number of America's presidents, he has allied himself with some of America's enemies. He has been an admirer of Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba, cited Castro favorably in the Dáil and simultaneously demanded that America lift its embargo on trade with Cuba.

He also courted Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega. Higgins was also a supporter of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua and in 1989 he hosted Nicaragua's Sandinista President Daniel Ortega in his own home. In early 2003 he visited Iraq in order to get the Baathist perspective before the war had begun. In 2004 he took part in a candlelight vigil to mourn the death of Yasser Arafat.

Before you worry that Ireland has gone off the deep end with Higgins, there are a few caveats: (1) a majority of people were totally dissatisfied with options on offer during the election and Higgins' win was more a rejection of the others than an embrace of him and his views; (2) Higgins only polled around a third of the electorate, but gained a majority on transfers from the other candidates; and (3) the position he's won is mostly ceremonial with no influence on policy.

The last factor should mean that if Higgins does his job properly we'll hardly notice that he's in office during the next seven years. Higgins' is entitled to his views, which are to the left of the Irish population, but as President he's not in a position to make or even influence policy so his views shouldn't matter.

Yet, over the past 20 years Presidents Robinson and McAleese have managed to expand the role of the office beyond what was ever imagined when the constitution was first passed in 1937. One of the new roles of the President is leading trade and cultural delegations on trips abroad. Mary McAleese has made many such visits to different parts of America, where she never put a foot wrong.

Will Higgins be able to follow suit? I'm doubtful.

If Higgins were to go on a visit to America he would have to temper his reactions to those who hold opposing views to his. I'm not sure he can do this.

Last year Higgins turned the air blue during what had been a robust, but good-natured live radio debate between himself and Boston talk show host Michael Graham. The discussion ranged over a number of topics and Higgins got more and more wound up. Eventually he went off on Graham, urging him to support a national health care initiative for America and to "be proud to be a decent American rather than just a w****r". Whatever you may think of Graham's views they are not outside the American mainstream and Higgins couldn't cope with them.

The government would do well to take heed of Higgins' contempt for some aspects of the American people. An explosion like the one at Graham during a trade mission might cause the kind of upset that would drive potential jobs away from Ireland. In addition, his views on Israel might cause consternation in other quarters.

Overall, it would probably be a good thing if the next seven years did not include any Irish presidential visit to America.

Comment:

Perhaps Mr. Higgins should be reminded, as he assumes the office of Uachtaran na hEireann, that a diplomat’s greatest asset is the practice of diplomacy. If these are truly “wee Michael D’s” views on America and Americans, they certainly fly in the face of anything that even vaguely resembles diplomacy. Such views could, very well, prove to be detrimental to the special relationship that has always been shared by these two nations.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

Loose Lips - Sink Ships!

2011-10-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

Undocumented Irish
have no trouble
finding work in
New York City

Irish tradition of immigration allows undocumented workforce to thrive

INES NOVACIC - IrishCentral.com Contributor - Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Ten years ago, Paddy, a 32-year-old Irishman, arrived in the US on a 90-day tourist visa. He still hasn’t left.

The undocumented construction worker said he’s had no trouble finding work in New York – and he’s not alone.

“The tradition is there,” said Paddy, who declined to give his last name. “All my friends work off the books.”

Irish immigrants have been streaming into New York City for decades through legal and illegal channels. But with immigration vaulting into the spotlight as one of the most contentious issues of the 2012 presidential race, there is renewed focus on groups like the city’s undocumented laborers. In a series of interviews, several said it’s far easier for them to work illegally in New York City than other nationalities.

“Irish guys tend to do better,” said Paddy, who recently became project manager for an electrical contractor.

Another undocumented worker from Ireland said he has landed a job without having to prove he has a visa.

“You can earn a nice little wage and live here no bother,” said Sean, 25, another undocumented construction worker who asked to be identified by first name only. “In a place like New York, if you tried to get all the illegals out, the city would hit a standstill. It’s not like we’re unusual or the only undocumented group.”

James O’Malley, an immigration lawyer from Ireland and the head of the Manhattan-based O’Malley and Associates firm, said that Irish workers had grown accustomed to coming to the U.S. since the launch of the Donnelly-Morrison Green Card Lottery program in the late 1980s. This piece of legislation enabled more Irish to obtain U.S. visas, and it adhered to U.S. immigration principles of the 1960s, which focused on family-ties rather than country-based quotas.

“Immigration quotas were fixed politically between 1989 and 1996,” said O’Malley. “But even now with relative immigration decline, the IRS, Department of Labor, and Immigrations Services lack the interest, time or politics to enforce rigorous measures against illegals.”

According to O’Malley, fewer Irish laborers have come to the U.S. since the demise of the country’s “Celtic Tiger” boom. Nonetheless, overall emigration from Ireland in the first half of 2011 was up 12 percent compared to the previous year. Figures published in early September by the Central Statistics Office, Ireland’s census bureau, revealed an increase of 11,1000 Irish nationals leaving the country. So far, that’s 110 Irish nationals a day.

George, 26, an Irish musician living in Queens, said that most of the Irish he knew worked in construction, with 80 percent of them “off the books.”

In Queens, a key Irish community stronghold, Irish laborers accounted for almost 65,000 of the one-million-member workforce, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. In other words, legal Irish immigrants comprise 15 percent of the labor force.

In 2006, the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) estimated that there were 50,000 illegal Irish workers in the U.S. ILIR testified that Ireland received 160 Diversity Visas out of a global total of 50,000 and approximately 2,000 Green Cards from a global total of 1 million.

Sean dismissed the notion that the history of Irish-American labor and emigration Relations account for the unique standing of Irish workers.

“It boils down to skin color. Only Irish workers get the same as Americans,” said Sean. “You’ll never see a Mexican being drunk and disorderly in public. They’re careful because they know they can be deported anytime. An Irishman walking into a construction job, even now with the recession, will get a higher hourly wage higher than other non-white employees who’ve been there for a while.”

Sean acknowledged that the recession impacted upon the illegal as well as the legal workforce, especially during the slow season of winter, when contractors give preference to legal or unionized laborers.

“It’s not the same since 2008, but there’s plenty of construction work out there for us,” Sean added.“There’s hundreds of Irish-owned construction companies.”

Sean recounted a saying from one of his former roommates: “You could just go on the piss Sunday, and get a new job Monday, no bother.”

The Emerald Isle Immigration Center in Queens provides a similar list to the Starting Gate, of Irish businesses in New York. A spokesperson for the organization equally refused to disclose it without first securing approval from the company listed. Emerald Isle doesn’t typically process work-related requests, but the center’s lawyer, John Stahl, 39, pointed out that undocumented workers have equal employment rights.

“If you do a day’s work in this country, you’re entitled to get paid. It’s not an immigration issue, it’s a work issue,” Stahl said. "I don’t think this adds much."

Under the 2011 Memorandum of Understanding between the Departments of Homeland Security and Department of Labor (DOL), Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) must refrain from engaging in enforcement activities at a worksite subject to a DOL investigation. Moreover, the report specifies that ICE can only intervene in cases concerning “a federal crime other than a violation relating to unauthorized employment.”

“The city would come to a standstill if government enforced deportations or ICE investigations rigorously,” said O’Malley. “A person can also claim sanction under the 1996 Cancellation of Deportation law, if they’ve been in the U.S. for 10 years and have at least one immediate family member who’s American”.

Paul, 32, who lives with Sean, also came to New York a decade ago on a holiday visa. Paul said that he originally started working for an Irishman who owned his own construction business, which he later merged with a big Manhattan-based contractor.

“I’ve been here for almost 11 years,” said Paul, “and no-one in my situation that’s in my circle, or my friend’s circle, has been targeted.”

Paul, who works as a carpenter, estimated that he gets paid $25-30 an hour. Large construction companies, which generate approximately $150 million a year, negotiate wages with relevant unions.

The General Contractors Association of New York oversees 13 different trade-specific construction unions, and fixes hourly wages between $30-60, dependent on the worker’s skill level. Unionized carpenters typically make $40-45 an hour without benefits. With union membership fees taken into account, Paul earns slightly less in real terms than his documented counterparts.

On a recent day, several Irishmen watching a Gaelic football match in the Cuckoos Nest pub in Queens openly admitted to being undocumented.

“It’s the kind of thing you leave people alone with,” said George, Sean’s 26-year-old friend from Dublin

“They like us, so they tolerate us. And we try to avoid rocking the boat. It has a lot to do with people in the right places turning a blind eye.”

Despite the seemingly easy task of getting work, and the insular, protective nature of the Irish community, Sean predicted that he wouldn’t stay in New York for long.

“I don’t think making more money than other undocumented groups makes us successful,” said Sean.

“We’ve no representation and I’ve yet to meet an Irishman who’s not in construction or bar work. And it’s unfortunate how a lot of Irish in these communities like Queens still only eat Kerrygold butter.”

Comment:

Very honestly, it is difficult to determine who is more stupid in this article, Ms. Novacic for writing it, her publisher for not putting it immediately in the shredder, or the people who responded to her questioning regarding their immigration status. There is nothing like cutting off one’s nose to spite his face. How can anybody possibly find fault with this great nation when somebody who does not even have authorization to work here can brag about working steadily in some of the highest paid jobs in New York City. If this is not the height of stupidity, perhaps somebody could tell me what is. I have no doubt that ICE will find this article very interesting and, unfortunately, the most likely result will be that somebody else will feel the wrath of the authorities and be the recipient of a one way ticket to Ireland and a ten year bar from re-entry to the U.S. All the clowns mentioned here should hang their heads in shame. They are a disgrace to their heritage and especially to their fellow Irish immigrants.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

Presidential pay cut: salary falls €75,000

2011-09-26T08:07:00.001-07:00

MARTIN WALL -Mon, Sep 26, 2011 – Irish Times

THE GOVERNMENT is to reduce the official salary for the president by more than €75,000 per year.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin told the Dáil in answer to a parliamentary question that new legislation will set the pay rate for the next president at €249,014.

The current official salary is €325,507 although President Mary McAleese voluntarily surrendered €65,102 (20 per cent) of her salary for 2010.

Mr Howlin said the Government had no plans to alter the additional allowance of €317,434 provided for entertainment and other expenses related to the office.

Under legislation going back to 1973, the personal salary of the president is set at the rate paid to the chief justice plus 10 per cent.

Mr Howlin said that, under the Constitution, the remuneration and allowances of a serving president are protected against cuts as Article 12.11.3 provides that the emoluments and allowances of the president shall not be reduced while in office.

In line with my stated intention to provide for reduced salary rates applicable to new appointees to the judiciary, I am also making provision for a reduced salary payable to the new president of Ireland following the forthcoming election.

“The new salary will be €249,014 and the necessary legislative amendment will be provided for in the forthcoming single pension Bill.

Comment:

This job carries a pretty nice salary with it not to mention all of the other perks that go along with it. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why there is so much interest in it. But, it is just another glaring example of the extravagances that Irish politicians shower upon themselves while the country’s economy goes to wrack and ruin and the ordinary Irish taxpayer is expected to pay, pay, and pay some more. How these parasites can sleep at night must be beyond the Irish taxpayer’s power to comprehend.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-09-06T06:52:00.001-07:00

€713,000 retirement package for top civil servant

HARRY McGEE, Political Correspondent - Tue, Sep 06, 2011 - The Irish Times

THE COUNTRY’S former top civil servant Dermot McCarthy received a combined retirement and pension package worth over €700,000 after stepping down this summer.

Mr McCarthy, secretary general to the Government, retired in July after 11 years in the position. He was also secretary general to the Department of An Taoiseach. As the taoiseach’s chief adviser, he was entitled to attend all Cabinet meetings.

During his tenure of more than a decade, Mr McCarthy was most associated with the social partnership process. He was secretary general to three taoisigh: Bertie Ahern; Brian Cowen and, in recent months, Enda Kenny. He was the taoiseach’s main adviser during the Northern peace process. He was also in position when the banking sector collapsed; when the economy was thrown into recession and when the previous government was forced to rely on intervention from the EU and IMF.

In addition to his annual pension of €142,670, Mr McCarthy was also paid a once-off lump sum of €428,011. He was also entitled to another special severance payment of €142,670. The overall package was worth €713,000. Details of Mr McCarthy’s package were released to RTÉ under the Freedom of Information Act.

On retirement, all public servants are entitled to a lump sum, worth 1.5 times the final salary. The sum is untaxed for all but the highest earners and has become increasingly contentious in recent years. While Mr McCarthy’s annual salary had fallen from €285,000 to €208,000 as a result of a series of pay cuts affecting high-earning public servants and ministers, his final salary for pension purposes remained the original figure of €285,000, leaving him with the lump sum of €428,000.

He will pay no tax on the first €200,000 of the €428,000 but following changes in this year’s Finance Act will pay tax of 20 per cent (or €45,600) on the remaining €228,000. The net worth of the lump sum is €382,400.

A Government spokeswoman said it was committed to ending the “exceptionally generous pension regime” for those at the top of the public and private sectors.

Comment:

How can the average Irish taxpayer who is literally stretched beyond the breaking point with the savage cuts in very necessary social welfare payments coupled with unbearable increases in taxes possibly allow this ludicrous behavior to continue? Now, the Taniste has just come out in the last few days and stated that another 31/2 to 4 billion in cuts to services will be incorporated in the new budget to be announced for December 2011.The greatest tragedy is that I have seen nothing in the news to present a challenge to these exorbitant and criminal "golden handshakes" for those feeding at the public trough. Will we ever see an end to this gross injustice being perpetrated on the Irish taxpayer? It is absolutely true that there is more money stolen with a pencil than there ever was with a gun.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-08-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

US will focus on deporting criminals

Obama move aims to free up courts; some immigrants may stay for review

By Maria Sacchetti – Boston Globe Staff Writer

The Obama administration declared yesterday that it would grant an indefinite reprieve to an estimated thousands of immigrants facing deportation, allowing them to stay and work legally so officials can more quickly deport convicted criminals and other serious cases.

Federal officials said they are launching a review of each of the roughly 300,000 cases in the nation’s immigration courts to ensure that new and existing ones reflect the administration’s priorities to detain and deport criminals and threats to public safety.

The move is likely to inflame political tensions with immigration looming as a campaign issue in 2012, and it has major implications for Massachusetts, which has the second-longest immigration court backlog in the United States. All manner of immigrants in the courts’ pipeline could stand to benefit, from factory workers detained in the 2007 New Bedford raid, to same-sex couples about to be separated, to youths facing deportation.

“The president has said on numerous occasions that it makes no sense to expend our enforcement resources on low-priority cases,’’ Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wrote yesterday to Senate majority leader Harry Reid, outlining the policy.

Doing otherwise, she added, “hinders our public safety mission - clogging immigration court dockets and diverting DHS enforcement resources away from individuals who pose a threat to public safety.’’

Administration officials said they do not know how many immigrants will receive a stay on their cases, though they estimated that thousands could be affected.

Susan Long, codirector of the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, which studied the issue in 2007, said most cases in immigration court appear to be people accused of violating immigration, not criminal, laws.

“It definitely could affect a large number of people,’’ Long said.

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security, who prosecute immigrants, and the Department of Justice, which oversees the immigration courts, will examine the cases in the coming months and send letters to immigrants who can stay.

Those immigrants would have the chance to apply for a work permit, though they could not obtain legal permanent residency and their cases could be reopened at any time, officials said.

Officials said the shift cements the message in a June memo from the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, urging agents to focus on detaining and deporting priority cases, such as convicted criminals, immigrants who sneak back across the border after having been deported, and recent border crossers.

Officials cautioned that they would continue enforcement efforts, which led to high deportation levels in recent years.

Yesterday, advocates for immigrants rejoiced in what many said was their first victory since President Obama took office promising - and failing - to tackle immigration policy overhaul in his first year.

Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, praised the move as a “humane and rational approach.’’

“This is a huge victory, not just for the immigrant and refugee community, but for all of us as American people, living up to our ideals,’’ Millona said. “It makes no sense to deport innocent children, to deport immigrant families. This is huge for the president. We commend him.’’

But others condemned the decision as a failure to enforce federal immigration laws.

“Everyone who’s here illegally should not be allowed to stay here,’’ said Joseph Ureneck, cochairman of Massachusetts Citizens for Immigration Reform, which favors tougher controls on immigration. “They should be returned to their home country.’’

The Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform called the Obama administration’s move a “huge breach of the public trust’’ and said it would essentially halt enforcement against many illegal immigrants.

The policy shift would affect less than 3 percent of most of the 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, but even that number is clogging the federal immigration courts at record levels.

Nationwide, more than 275,000 cases were pending as of May, with the average case pending 482 days, according the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

Boston, which serves all New England states except Connecticut, has more than 8,880 cases pending an average of 617 days, second only to California.

In Massachusetts, the largest groups facing deportation are from Guatemala and Brazil.

Yesterday, the Boston court was so crowded that a judge made immigrants wait in the hall while their lawyers handled the cases, said lawyer Matthew Maiona. He said most cases he sees are not criminals, but people who are accused of violating immigration law.

“I know they’ll be happy,’’ he said.

But he said the new policy would do little for the 11 million here illegally.

“Anything right now is welcome, but I really believe it’s a Band-Aid approach to a gaping wound problem,’’ Maiona said.

Harvey Kaplan, a Boston immigration lawyer, said the policy acknowledges that the federal government cannot deport all 11 million illegal immigrants.

“It just sort of says, ‘Let’s get real. We don’t have the resources. There are many good people out there [so] let’s get rid of the bad people,’ ’’ he said.

Immigrants facing deportation welcomed the news yesterday with a mix of hope and uncertainty, because they will not know if they can stay until the US government sends them a letter.

For Tania Nitch, a 37-year-old immigrant from Guatemala who has lived in New England since she was 14, the news came just in time for her deportation hearing next month. The mother of two said she has been fighting deportation for four years and does not have a criminal record.

“I’m just hoping. I’m keeping my fingers crossed,’’ said Nitch, who lives in Rhode Island.

She said waiting has been agony. “I’m going insane. I mean I don’t know if I’m going to stay or I’m going to leave,’’ she said.

Maria Caguana, a young mother of three in Milford, said she hoped it would help her husband, Manuel Simon Caguana, an immigrant from a rural village in Ecuador who is in a New Mexico detention center pending deportation.

She said he had been arrested in the past for minor offenses such as driving without a license, but was an otherwise hard-working laborer who had lived here for 10 years. A few months ago, he was picked up for a deportation order he did not know he had, and she has not seen him since.

“I hope it happens’’ for him, she said of the stay.

Comment:

Is this a pardon or a parole for those who were being held strictly for immigration violations rather than participating in serious criminal activity? They will be given an opportunity to apply for a temporary work permit which will, most likely, have to be renewed periodically. This will allow the authorities to closely monitor their activities and their whereabouts. They will not be able to obtain permanent residency status and their work permits can be revoked at any time and their deportation cases reopened. The clear winners in this arrangement are the immigration courts who will now have the ability to schedule these cases at any time they see fit. The only positive aspect for those being “paroled” is that they will not be incarcerated but will certainly be very closely monitored in a “prison without bars”.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-08-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

Illegal Irish forced out of jobs in US crackdown

Eoin Reynolds in California - Sunday August 14 2011

UNDOCUMENTED Irish in America are being forced out of their black market jobs by tough new measures to clamp down on illegal workers, according to the Immigration Rights Commission (IRC) in San Francisco.

IRC chairman Angus Mc-Carthy said new e-verification forms had forced thousands of illegals to quit their jobs.

He said: "The e-verification number has changed the game for workers here. Under this system you have to prove you are legal to keep your job so workers are being given the option of complying, or leaving their jobs."

E-verification requires a worker to provide documents to an employer that are then compared to Homeland Security files to assess if the person is legally entitled to work in the US. Anyone whose documents do not match up is likely to be arrested and deported.

At present it is only mandatory for employers working on federal contracts to e-verify their workers.

However, a number of industries have taken it upon themselves to implement the rules, fearing that they will be penalised in the future if they are found to be employing illegals.

The Latino community has been hardest hit as the fast-food and hotel industries have been the most rigorous in implementing the system.

But Irish workers who are "caught up in the crossfire" are also struggling and there is currently a bill before the house to make e-verification mandatory for all sectors.

Sponsored by Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, Bill S1196 would force all employers to fully comply with e-verification within one year.

Felix Feuntes, of the Immigration Rights Commission in San Francisco, said the construction sector was also beginning to comply with the regulations.

Construction has long been one of the most important employers for illegal Irish in the US but it now faces a major overhaul.

Employers, fearing a backlash from future governments, are becoming increasingly likely to let go of any illegals on their books.

Comment:

This legislation, if enacted, could have a devastating effect on the undocumented Irish communities in the U.S. The tragedy is that it would, most likely, make a very limited number of steady jobs available to persons with work authorization. The reason is that small independent contractors hire workers for short periods as the work load dictates. They may only need somebody for a few days and then let them go. This is a way of life that would not be either suitable or acceptable to authorized workers looking for steady employment. The small contractors would not have a source of temporary workers available when they are needed. The economy would lose the money that undocumented workers spend on goods and services and the necessities of life. The sum total would be a “lose, lose, situation for everybody involved” Senator Grassley’s time would be much better spent in trying to find a real solution to our broken U.S. immigration system.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-08-10T08:29:00.000-07:00

The case of Brendan Lillis

“Brendan Lillis is a former republican political prisoner who served a life sentence as a result of his involvement in the North’s violent political conflict. He served around 16 years for possession of explosives and firearms. In 1992 he was released on license. In 2009 he appeared in court on a robbery related charge, a charge which is no longer to be proceeded with. Shortly after his arrest the British Secretary of State withdrew his licence which reactivated his life sentence….There have been concerns raised about the state of his health. It seems that he is being detained within a regime which can easily be described as one of medical neglect. It was reported that he is suffering ‘from the debilitating arthritic illness ankylosing spondylitis, which leads to a curvature in the spine and causes the body to produce excess bone mass.’” - Anthony McIntyre 13th March 2011

There are two immediate legal issues in this case. Firstly, the reactivation of Brendan Lillis’ licence engages a number of rights under the European Convention on Human Rights; Article 5 Right to Liberty and Security, specifically the duty the state owes to inform the detainee of the reason for their detention, and Artcle 6 the Right to a Fair Trial in that the detainee has the right to a fair and public hearing for the determination of the detainee’s civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him. The second legal issue surrounds the positive obligations that the state owes Brendan Lillis in regard to the Provision of Medicial Services that arise under Article 2 the Right to Life.

The most serious of these legal issues relate to the health issues that engage Brendan Lillis’ Right to life, and the authorities obligations owed to him uder this convention rights. The Right to Life retains it pre-eminent status in International law as the foremost of all human rights and from which all other rights sequentially follow. It is also the cornerstone of the European Convention as it is the foremost of all the provisions in the European Convention. The developing jurisprudence that the European Court on Human Rights considers obligatory on states, under the premise of Article 2, surrounds the provision of medical facilities and services. Such provisions were engaged in the unsuccessful case of LCB V UK, whereby the Court stated that the state had ‘to take appropriate steps to safeguard the lives of those within the jurisdiction.’ This is however, viewed on a case by case basis, in that the more verifiable the risk to the life of a specific individual, the more pressing the corresponding duty on the state to provide the appropriate provision for medical services. In a somewhat similar case to Brendan Lillis, the ECtHR ruled unanimously found that there is an obligation on the state to provide medical treatment to a detainee, in Velikova v Bulgaria. States therefore ought to be under a clear obligation under Article 2, to provide medical provision for those vulnerable persons detained under their supervision and custody. Similarily in Anguelova v Bulgaria the Court found a breach of Article 2, again a seriously ill detainee was denied timely medical assistance in this instance.

The state clearly owes Brendan Lillis an obligation under this right, which would then trigger further analysis into the reasoning and legality of his detention under the obligations owed in regard to Article 5 the Right to Liberty and Security, specifically the duty the state owes to inform the detainee of the reason for his detention, and Artcle 6 the Right to a Fair Trial in that Brendan Lillis has the right to a fair and public hearing for the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him.

Serious legal questions have arisen and need to be answered in relation to the provision of medical services for Brendan Lillis and his continued detention.

Comment:

I have read with great interest many of the pleas from a wide range of persons asking for the release of Brendan Lillis on humanitarian grounds. I must say that I am in absolute agreement that this man is in grave physical condition, poses no threat to anyone, and certainly should be released “on humanitarian grounds”. However, it has also become abundantly clear that the pleas for his release on “humanitarian grounds” from dozens, if not hundreds, of sympathetic, well meaning petitioners, have fallen on deaf ears. Perhaps it is time to abandon that approach and consider a more pragmatic one such as that which is outlined in the article above. This article appeared in a blog a couple of months ago and it very clearly outlines the rights to which Brendan Lillis is entitled. It is time to assert his rights as outlined in this article instead of moving on with a continuous stream of ineffective pleas to an obviously uncaring British government official.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-08-02T06:20:00.000-07:00

How the TD expenses system works

By Fiach Kelly and David Whelan - Tuesday August 02 2011

THE new system introduced last year splits TDs' expenses payments into two elements, the Travel and Accommodation Allowance (TAA) and the Public Representation Allowance (PRA).

The TAA

To claim the TAA, TDs must verify their attendance at Leinster House by either electronically fobbing in with a tag at a number of points or by signing an attendance book.

Both methods are recorded, and attendance sheets are uploaded on the Oireachtas website each month. The TAA covers the costs of travel to and from Leinster House, accommodation where applicable, and constituency travel.

No receipts are needed to claim the TAA but TDs have to attend at least 120 days annually. For every day below 120, they have to refund 1pc of their annual total allowance. The attendance days do not have to be sitting days.

Each member is paid an allowance based on the distance from their declared normal place of residence to the Dail.

The Dublin band is for TDs who live 25km or less from Leinster House and is worth €12,000 a year.

For those living between 25km and 60km from the Dail, the allowance jumps to €28,106 a year to allow for overnight stays. The highest allowance is for those living 360km away or more and is worth €37,850 a year.

Cabinet and junior ministers do not get the TAA but are entitled to a second-home allowance so rural ministers could keep a base in the capital.

It has escaped the cuts to political expenses. It applies to houses, rented accommodation and hotels.

In 2009, the latest year for which figures are available, 11 ministers claimed €27,231 in tax breaks on second homes, €2,838 on rented accommodation and €20,894 on hotels.

The PRA

These payments are in addition to the TAA.

The PRA is designed to cover the day-to-day running of a constituency office, such as gas bills, leaflets, newsletters and stationery.

TDs can choose the unvouched system and get €15,000 a year, or the fully vouched system which has a limit of €25,700. Ministers can get €12,000 unvouched and €20,000 if they produce receipts.

All these payments are on top of a politician's salary -- a TD's basic salary is around €90,000 a year.

Comment:

I am utterly amazed at the unmitigated gaul of these Irish politicians continuing to shower themselves in these outrageous benefits while, on the floor of the Dail, they routinely discuss imposing even further unmerciful cuts in benefits and more tax increases for the ordinary citizens and taxpayers of Ireland. The Celtic Tiger may be long gone but the incredible level of greed that it spawned in Irish politicians is alive and well regardless of what political party is in power.

The imposition of these Draconian cuts in benefits and further tax increases leave Irish families with little choice but to suffer in silence and younger people to choose the “emigrant ship”.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-07-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

ICE leaves police in the cold

Boston Globe Staff Writer – 16 July 2011

BOSTONIANS SUFFER more aggravation from neighbors who steal their parking spots during winter storms than they do from illegal immigrants. In a border state like Arizona, the term “unlawful immigrant’’ might conjure up the image of a drug smuggler. Around here, it’s more likely to evoke the valedictorian of a local high school whose parents entered the country illegally when the kid was 3.

The Boston Police Department blundered in 2006 when it rushed to participate in the federal Secure Communities program, which matches the fingerprints of anyone arrested locally with those in federal immigration data banks. At the time, officials from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement promised that the matches would be used only to take action against illegal immigrants charged or convicted of serious crimes. Mayor Menino, therefore, blew his stack when the Globe published a story earlier this month showing that 183 of 352 immigrants deported from Boston since 2008 had no criminal records.

On Thursday, ICE director John Morton came to Boston to clear the air. But it’s still a little hazy, like nearly everything connected to federal policy on illegal immigration. Morton apologized for his predecessors who gave the false impression that only violent criminals faced deportation under the Secure Communities program. But he was adamant that the program could not be restricted solely to “serious offenders.’’

He said that 55 percent of the 352 illegal immigrants deported from Boston had criminal convictions. The remainder fell equally into the following three categories: those arrested after illegal reentry into the country; immigration fugitives who had ignored deportation orders; and people who had overstayed their visas.

Morton also said that miscommunication between ICE and local police left the false impression that the Secure Communities program is voluntary. It’s not. The target date for nationwide implementation is 2013, he said.

This isn’t going over well in cities where immigrants make up a significant percentage of workers, customers, classmates, and friends. Urban dwellers don’t want their police force to be perceived as de facto immigration agents. It undermines the image of successful cities as expansive and accessible. And police worry that crime victims and witnesses in immigrant neighborhoods won’t come forward for fear of deportation.

Boston Police commissioner Edward Davis said he tried to communicate his concerns to Morton on Thursday, but the ICE director was “cavalier’’ and “pretty dismissive.’’ Now Davis wants to break with Secure Communities. But he isn’t sure how that is even possible.

There is no obvious way short of refusing to send the fingerprints of people arrested in Boston to the FBI data bank. And no police commissioner in his right mind would risk overlooking a minor offender here who might be wanted for a heinous crime in another state. ICE has cornered the local police, who can’t prevent the FBI from forwarding the prints to the immigration data banks.

But it may not be as grim as it appears. There is recent evidence that ICE has heard the complaints of police and public officials, including Governor Patrick, who wants no part of detaining illegal immigrants for ICE’s administrative purposes. A recent ICE memorandum to its field office directors and special agents states that “it is against ICE policy to initiate removal proceedings against an individual known to be the immediate victim or witness to a crime.’’

Another ICE memo on “prosecutorial discretion’’ lists 19 factors to consider when deciding if deportation is warranted. The agency looks to be in no particular rush to kick out primary caretakers of sick relatives, pregnant or nursing moms, victims of domestic violence, people with serious health conditions, immediate relatives of US soldiers, minors, the elderly, and others who fall into sympathetic categories.

This is a good start. But ICE is still undermining the credibility of the police and making city officials look small-minded by implicating them in the deportation of illegal immigrants for administrative violations.

“What part of the word ‘illegal’ don’t you understand?’’ is the usual comeback to anyone who see shades of gray on the subject of illegal immigration. Bostonians could confront these hardliners with a question of their own: “What part of the word ‘communities’ don’t you understand?’’

Comment:

I had just finished reading this article when I received a call from one of the young undocumented Irish with whom I work on a daily basis. He informed me that another member of the group was stopped for making a left turn where he was not supposed to. He claims that he did not see the sign. The police officer asked for his driver’s license whereupon he gave the officer an Irish license. He was taken to the police station and charged with several traffic violations including driving without a valid driver’s license even though his Irish license was a valid one. His immigration status was checked through ICE and he was found to be undocumented. He is currently being detained for possible deportation as an undesirable alien. We have several influential people working on his behalf but the sad truth is that he will most likely be deported for nothing more than a simple traffic violation. It was the first encounter that this young man has had with the police since he arrived in the United States.

Does a simple traffic violation warrant deportation when we have violent criminals walking our streets? I certainly do not think so but I would welcome the opportunity to respond to others with opposing points of view.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-07-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

Adams: Orange parades will have role in united Ireland

By Noel McAdam - The Belfast Telegraph

Orange Order marches would have a place in a new united Ireland, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said today.
In an speech to the British Irish Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, meeting in Wales, he insisted republicans had no desire to conquer or humiliate unionists.
The veteran party leader, who recently appealed through the Belfast Telegraph for the Order to open talks with Sinn Fein, said the genuine fears and concerns of unionists — including their sense of Britishness — needed to be explored in a meaningful way.
And he also told the gathering in Swansea, made up of MPs, members of the regional Assemblies as well as elected representatives from the Isle of Man and Channel Islands, that the people of Britain have a duty “to themselves, to unionists in particular, to the Irish in general and even to the world” to give their opinion on Irish reunification.
“We need to look at ways in which the unionist people can find their place in a new Ireland. In other words it needs to be their united Ireland,” the West Belfast MP said.
Sinn Fein’s vision of a new Ireland was where unionists have “equal ownership” with respect for cultural diversity, and political, social, economic and cultural equality because nationalists and republicans did not seek to deny the rights of others.
“The real distinction that we have always drawn is between justice and privilege. Justice for all and privilege for none. This means, for example, that Orange marches will have their place in a new Ireland, albeit on the basis of respect and co-operation,” he said.
With the main focus of the two-day event on the recession, Mr Adams argued that in economic terms the border is more than just an inconvenience — it is an obstacle to progress.
“While its adverse affects are most clearly felt in the communities that straddle the border, it also impacts negatively throughout the island. The reality is that the economy of the North is too small to exist in isolation.
“There are some who suggest that because we live in a period of severe economic difficulty that Irish reunification should be put off for the foreseeable future. In fact the opposite is the case,” Mr Adams went on.
“There is now a need, more than ever, for the island economy to be brought into being in the fullest sense, and for the political and administrative structures to be instituted with that in mind.”

Comment:

I wonder if this new enlightened point of view has been discussed with the residents of the Garvaghy Road or the Lower Ormeau Road and other areas where these obnoxious displays of Loyalist triumphalism have caused grief and mayhem for generations. I would venture to guess that the Catholic Nationalist residents in these areas would have quite a different opinion about acceptance of these parades and the anti-Catholic, anti-Irish bigots who conduct and participate in them. There is certainly reason to question the wisdom of accepting these parades without drastic changes in the manner in which they are presently conducted or, for that matter, allowing them at all.

McGuinness slams Orange Order parades

By Staff reporter – Belfast Telegraph

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has accused the Orange Order of refusing to make a contribution to the peace process.
In a stinging attack on the Orange Order, delivered at the annual Wolfe Tone commemoration at Bodenstown on Sunday, the Sinn Féin leader said the Order must deal with the issue of contested parades.
“In the course of the past 15 years there have been many important contributions to the peace process. The IRA made significant contributions. So too the loyalists. So have many political parties and governments. However the Orange Order, the cement which for decades held the unionist regime together, has refused to make a contribution. That has to end. The leadership of the Orange Order can no longer abdicate its responsibilities,” he said.
Mr McGuinness also suggested that republicans would no longer be prepared to act as stewards during parades at flashpoint areas while the Orange Order refuses to negotiate with residents.
“Now is the time for the Orange Order to step forward. There are hundreds of Orange Parades each year. Only a few cause controversy. The days of republicans stretching ourselves and our communities to maintain calm in the face of sectarian provocation cannot last forever. It is now time for the issue of contested parades to be dealt with once and for all.
“That means the Orange Order making its contribution to peace. It means a declaration from the Orange Order that in future they will no longer seek to force parades through catholic areas and risk bringing violence onto our streets,” he said.
Mr McGuinness said if the Orange Order do not engage with local communities it will be regarded as “an abdication of their responsibilities.” He also called on unionist political leaders to confront what he described as “its own ideology of inequality.”
Responding to Mr McGuinness’s speech, an Orange spokesperson said; “The Orange Order is working very hard to make its parades more family-friendly and welcoming, particularly to tourists, and these remarks from the deputy first minister are extremely unhelpful."
Elsewhere in the speech, Mr McGuinness also criticised armed dissident republican groups.
“Activity by small militarist factions will not advance the cause of Irish freedom. It is worth remembering that the United Irishmen did not choose armed revolt as their option of first resort. 'Thinking' republicans have always sought alternatives to armed revolt to achieve freedom. And so it is today. Whatever their motivation they offer no realistic alternative to the strategy pursued by Sinn Féin,” he said.

Orange Order Membership Oath

The Orange Order - even though it has influence in many parts of the world - is in reality a Northern Ireland phenomenon. Part of the phenomenon is that there is a belief deeply rooted within it that it is an instrument in God's hands for the preservation of His Kingdom. An instrument in God's Hands to keep 'popery' at bay and to maintain religious liberty. The advertised qualities of an Orangeman make very impressive reading..

"An Orangeman should have a sincere love and veneration for his Heavenly Father; a humble and steadfast faith in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, believing in Him as the only Mediator between God and man He should cultivate truth and justice, brotherly kindness and charity, devotion and piety, concord and unity, and obedience to the laws; his deportment should be gentle and compassionate, kind and courteous; he should seek the society of the virtuous, and avoid that of the evil, he should honour and diligently study the Holy Scriptures, and make them the rule of his faith and practice; he should love, uphold, and defend the Protestant religion, and sincerely desire and endeavour to propagate its doctrines and precepts; he should strenuously oppose the fatal errors and doctrines of the Church of Rome, and scrupulously avoid countenancing (by his presence or otherwise) any act or ceremony of Popish worship; he should, by all lawful means, resist the ascendancy of that Church, its encroachments, and the extension of its power, ever abstaining from all uncharitable words, actions, or sentiments, towards his Roman Catholic brethren; he should remember to keep holy the Sabbath day, and attend the public worship of God, and diligently train up his offspring, and all under his control, in the fear of God, and in the Protestant faith; he should never take the name of God in vain, but abstain from all cursing and profane language, and use every opportunity of discouraging these, and all other sinful practices, in others; his conduct should be guided by wisdom and prudence, and marked by honesty, temperance, and sobriety; the glory of God and the welfare of man, the honour of his Sovereign, and the good of his country, should be the motive of his actions"

Comment:
Please see the comment on this page from Gerry Adams regarding Orange Order parades. Also, it would appear as though the Deputy First Minister of the Stormont Government’s attitude toward the Orange Order bigots has certainly changed significantly since the Smithsonian “love-in” on the National Mall in Washington, DC in 2007. Perhaps Mr. McGuinness and Mr. Adams should come to some kind of agreement to clarify their positions and end the confusion that these opposing points of view project to the Nationalist community. “Are the Orange Order “good guys or bad guys”?

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-07-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Minor offenders snared in immigration program aimed at serious crimes

By Maria Sacchetti – Boston Globe Staff

Lizandra DeMoura, 18, is facing deportation to Brazil after a traffic arrest in May. She came to the United States as a child.

One early evening in May, a Boston police officer arrested Lizandra DeMoura for traffic violations and driving without a license. In another city, she might have been booked and released for a court hearing. But in Boston, the 18-year-old was jailed overnight, taken to court, and handed over to federal immigration agents, who hauled her away in chains.

Now she is facing deportation to Brazil.

“I felt like an animal,’’ DeMoura, who has lived here since she was a child, said in a recent interview in her lawyer’s office in Boston, wearing an electronic monitoring device around her ankle.

Her case - one of three to emerge in recent weeks - lies at the center of the contentious debate over Secure Communities, a federal program pioneered in Boston that uses fingerprints supplied by police and other law enforcement agencies to detect illegal immigrants.

The cases disprove for the first time claims by Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis that the federal program, as implemented by the city, is only being used to root out serious criminals.

After the Globe presented him with these examples last week, Davis urged US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to halt deportation proceedings against them. Davis said Boston joined the program to sweep out violent criminals, and would withdraw if cases such as DeMoura’s are widespread.

“I’m disappointed with what I’m seeing,’’ Davis said, adding that he has asked the immigration bureau to review the noncriminal cases.

Though critics of illegal immigration encourage police to enforce immigration law, Davis said he only wanted to target criminals. A broader net, he said, would discourage ordinary immigrants from reporting crime. “I don’t want people to feel that they have to fear the police, no matter what their status is.’’

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to questions about Davis’s concerns. But spokesman Chuck Jackson said the agency recently announced changes to Secure Communities to more tightly focus it on serious criminals, including a new advisory committee that will make recommendations about whether the US government should pursue immigrants stopped for minor traffic violations.

Jackson pointed to several cases that he said Boston police helped bring to light. These included a 2009 case when Boston police helped find a Jamaican man, a violent gang member with a drug conviction. He had illegally reentered the country after being deported, a federal crime, and is now serving 57 months in prison for that offense. He will be deported when the sentence is completed.

Officials launched Secure Communities in 2008 to automatically check the fingerprints of everyone arrested through immigration databases. The computer system alerts Immigration and Customs Enforcement when someone is here illegally, and the bureau decides whom to detain for deportation. The program, piloted in Boston in 2006, has expanded to more than 40 states. Boston is still the only Massachusetts community participating

Catching serious criminals is the bureau’s stated top priority under the program, which federal officials plan to implement nationwide by 2013 as mandatory even for states that object. But officials have said that anyone under arrest who is here illegally could be deported.

Because of concerns about racial profiling and high numbers of noncriminals being deported under the program, Governor Deval Patrick last month followed the governors of New York and Illinois in rejecting Secure Communities for state law enforcement. Massachusetts, however, turns over convicted criminals to Immigration and Customs Enforcement once their sentences are served.

Federal statistics show that 183 of 352 immigrants deported from Boston since 2008 - or about 52 percent - had no criminal record, this is much higher than the national average of 29 percent.

“If the goal is to get the bad people off the street, nobody can object to that,’’ said DeMoura’s attorney, William Joyce, a former Boston immigration court judge who is fighting her deportation. “The problem is they don’t seem to be getting the right people.’’

Supporters say Secure Communities has become a valuable tool in fighting crime. Since 2008, the program has deported 30,000 violent Level 1 criminals nationwide, including murderers and rapists, and thousands of others convicted of lesser crimes. In Boston, the program swept out 96 such criminals and 73 more convicted of lesser crimes.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that favors stricter controls on immigration, said she believes cases such as DeMoura’s are the exception. Had Secure Communities been fully deployed, she said, it might have prevented the brutal rape of a Rhode Island woman in 2008 by an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, or this year’s savage murders of a Brockton woman and her son in which police indicted a man from Ecuador. Both men had past arrests.

“The benefits that the program offers in being able to more easily find all of the really serious cases far outweighs the very tiny risk that a sympathetic case might get caught up in the system,’’ she said. “Though the case might seem sympathetic, they’re still here illegally.’’

Advocates for immigrants say that in Boston, Secure Communities makes immigrants afraid to report crime. The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, an umbrella group, and others have urged Boston to withdraw from the program.

“End the program. It doesn’t work,’’ said Heloisa Galvao, executive director of the Brazilian Women’s Group in Allston. “We had this idea that Boston was friendly to immigrants. . . . This program, it tells the opposite. We really feel betrayed.’’

The Globe documented three cases of immigrants stopped for minor traffic violations and then arrested on charges such as driving without a license, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 10 days in jail and up to a $1,000 fine. All were picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and none had criminal records. In each case, charges were dismissed or the person was found not responsible.

Lindomar Da Silva, a 36-year-old laborer who came to America 10 years ago from Conselheiro Pena, a small town in southeastern Brazil, was stopped in April for turning into a Burger King without signaling.

Da Silva said he spent several days in jail and had to pay a $5,000 bond to the federal government - money he hopes they will return to him.

The episode was in stark contrast to an encounter with the State Police the year before, when another driver rear-ended Da Silva in Everett. Court records show that Da Silva was issued a citation for driving without a license and released. He said he never heard from federal immigration authorities.

Now he is fighting deportation in federal court.

“There are more cases happening here [like mine],’’ Da Silva said. “There are more people in the jail, people like me, but they didn’t have money to get out.’’

Also in April, police stopped Leonardo Machado, a construction worker from Brazil, for having a broken brake light and arrested him on charges of driving without a license. His voice faltered as he recalled a sudden swarm of police officers around the truck and his subsequent delivery to federal immigration offices in Burlington.

He said he was so traumatized by being put in chains that he signed a voluntary deportation order agreeing to leave the United States at his own expense.

“I think it’s better I go back to Brazil,’’ he said. “ I don’t want to be here anymore.’’

DeMoura said she is terrified that authorities will send her to Brazil, where she does not speak the language. But she also feels lost in America, where she is ineligible for a driver’s license and college scholarships. Feeling helpless, she dropped out of high school and took a cash-only job as a secretary.

She had lived a quiet life until that night in May, when she borrowed her mother’s car to drive to a friend’s house to print out dance instructions for a church performance. A police officer in Charlestown stopped her for allegedly going through a stop sign and speeding at 40 miles per hour. She was arrested on traffic charges including driving without a license.

She spent the night sobbing on a concrete bench in a Boston jail. The next day a judge dismissed the charges and immigration agents took her to their Burlington headquarters for processing. They affixed a tracking device to her ankle that was finally removed almost two weeks ago. The device made it hard to ride her bike.

Now, she is making plans to return to school and trying not to think about her future.

“It just scares me a lot,’’ she said, twisting tissues in the lap of her yellow sundress. “I’ve been here all my life.’’

Comment:

Two weeks ago I sent out an article pertaining to the Secure Communities Program which is already in practice in certain locations and the E Verify Program which is voluntary in some locations. U.S. Representative Lamar Smith, (R-Texas), Chairman of the House Judiciary has been putting forth great effort to pass legislation making the E Verify Program mandatory for all employers before hiring any employee. If enacted, Rep. Smith’s bill would levy heavy fines on any employer who hires an employee, for any type of employment whatsoever, who is not authorized to work in the U.S. This would deal a devastating blow to a very significant number of undocumented residents who are employed in menial jobs such as migrant farm hands, housekeepers, kitchen help etc. which would, most likely, be rejected by U.S. citizens or legal residents with work authorization. While it is true that many of these hard working people who are prevented by their undocumented status from paying taxes on their earnings, actually do contribute to our economy when they purchase the necessities of life for themselves and their families. It must also be remembered that the children of most undocumented residents are actually U.S. citizens. Perhaps simple Christian Charity should govern our treatment of the vast majority of these people who merely seek to provide for themselves and their families and live with the hope that someday they will be able to resolve their legality and take their place as productive citizens of the greatest nation on earth.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-06-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

Catholic Church and Archbishop Dolan
lose out badly in New York gay
marriage defeat

Irish Central – 24 June 2011

The vote for gay marriage is a major setback for Archbishop Timothy Dolan and the Catholic Church in New York which fought the legislation tooth and nail.

However, it is clear that the church power has waned in the aftermath of the pedophile sex scandals which have plagued the church in recent years.

Until quite recently a 'belt of the crozier' from the Catholic church would have stopped any such gay marriage bill in its tracks, especially one actively promoted by a Catholic governor.

Not any more and the church now looks exposed because of its opposition and its failure to turn the tide,

Dolan and another leading Irish American, Michael Long of the Conservative Party, made last ditch efforts to overturn the legislation which passed 33-29 with four Republican votes.It was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Afterwards the church issued a statement which read;

"We strongly uphold the Catholic Church's clear teaching that we always treat our homosexual brothers and sisters with respect, dignity and love. But we just as strongly affirm that marriage is the joining of one man and one woman in a lifelong, loving union that is open to children, ordered for the good of those children and the spouses themselves.

This definition cannot change, though we realize that our beliefs about the nature of marriage will continue to be ridiculed, and that some will even now attempt to enact government sanctions against churches and religious organizations that preach these timeless truths."

Regardless of the statement the church has been comprehensively defeated on one of their signature issues. The four Republican senators, two of them Catholic, who voted for the bill and the Senate leader Senator Dean Skelos who allowed the vote have made clear that it was a personal decision and they refused to be swayed by the Church lobbying.

Sinn Féin - Proud to support PRIDE

An Phoblacht – 24 June 2011

Sinn Féin will be supporting the Dublin Pride Festival Parade on Saturday June 25th. Republican activists are encouraged to join the Party's contingent on the Parade. Please register with the organisers at the Garden of Remembrance before 12.30 to be able to march behind the Sinn Féin banner.

What is Dublin Pride

The Dublin Pride Festival, organised this year by Dublin L.G.B.T.Q. Pride Ltd, starts this June the 17th, and culminates in the Dublin Pride Parade on the 25th of June 2011,

Dublin Pride has three core values which it aims to promote through the festival:

Celebrating Diversity

Not only to tolerate, but to accept and celebrate diversity with the understanding that it is our differences which make us extraordinary.

Inclusiveness

To seek out those who are on the fringes and to take practical, concrete steps to ensure their inclusion in society.

Increased Visibility & Mutual Respect

To increase the visibility of the Dublin LGBTQ community within the wider Dublin, Irish and global community while communicating the message of mutual respect; to appreciate others for what they are, for how they are different and to respect them for such.

Parade Times and Route

The Pride Parade will start at the Garden Of Remebrance at 2pm Saturday the 25th Of June. To join the Sinn Féin contingent on the parade you have to register before 12.30 at the Garden of Remembrance. Failure to register will mean that you will have to join the end of the Parade.

The route will be the same as last year. From the Garden Of Remembrance down O’Connell Street, over O’Connell Bridge, on to Dolier Street and Dame Street, passing City hall and finishing at the Civic Offices.

Last year over 20,000 March.

Comment:

It is very clear from the content of these articles that our Catholic faith as well as our AOH National Constitution which requires us, as Hibernians, to be practicing Catholics and to work in harmony with the teachings of the Church, is in imminent danger from many outside forces. Unfortunately, politics often plays a prominent role in the danger to our faith and to the principles that we espouse as members of our noble Order. It is not always easy to make a principled choice and to stand up and be counted among those whose Catholic faith and devotion to our noble Order mean much more than political correctness whether here in the United States of America or in Ireland. Brothers, the time is now to show the world that we are proud to profess our Catholic faith and also proud to practice the principles enshrined in the National Constitution of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

Knights of Columbus – 4^th Degree

Secure Communities

2011-06-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

Secure Communities

Through the Secure Communities strategy, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) improves public safety every day by transforming the way criminal aliens are identified and removed from the United States. This strategy leverages an existing information sharing capability between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to quickly and accurately identify aliens who are arrested for a crime and booked into local law enforcement custody. With this capability, the fingerprints of everyone arrested and booked are not only checked against FBI criminal history records, but they are also checked against DHS immigration records. If fingerprints match DHS records, ICE determines if immigration enforcement action is required, considering the immigration status of the alien, the severity of the crime and the alien's criminal history. Secure Communities also helps ICE maximize and prioritize its resources to ensure that the right people, processes and infrastructure are in place to accommodate the increased number of criminal aliens being identified and removed.

Secure Communities modernizes the identification and removal processes by:

Using fingerprint-based biometric identification technology, Prioritizing resources toward the greatest threats, and Sharing information between law enforcement partners.

287g Bill

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the largest investigative agency in the Department of Homeland Security, enforces federal immigration laws as part of its homeland security mission. ICE works closely with federal, state and local law enforcement partners in this mission.

The 287(g) program, one of ICE’s top partnership initiatives, allows a state and local law enforcement entity to enter into a partnership with ICE, under a joint Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). The state or local entity receives delegated authority for immigration enforcement within their jurisdictions.

Work site enforcement:

Effective worksite enforcement plays an important role in the fight against illegal immigration. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has developed a comprehensive worksite enforcement strategy that promotes national security, protects critical infrastructure and targets employers who violate employment laws or engage in abuse or exploitation of workers.

An effective worksite enforcement strategy must address both employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, as well as the workers themselves. In worksite cases, ICE investigators adhere to high investigative standards, including the following:

ICE will look for evidence of the mistreatment of workers, along with evidence of trafficking, smuggling, harboring, visa fraud, identification document fraud, money laundering and other such criminal conduct. ICE will obtain indictments, criminal arrests or search warrants, or a commitment from a U.S. Attorney's Office to prosecute the targeted employer before arresting employees for civil immigration violations at a worksite.

The Law Enforcement Support Center

(LESC) is a national enforcement operations facility administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the largest investigative agency in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The LESC is a single national point of contact that provides timely customs information and immigration status and identity information and real-time assistance to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies on aliens suspected, arrested or convicted of criminal activity.

Located in Williston, Vt., the LESC operates around the clock – 365 days a year. State and local law enforcement officers seeking information about aliens are the primary users of the LESC.

The LESC also receives queries from federal, state and local correctional and court systems seeking information about individuals in custody or encountered elsewhere in the criminal justice system. Law enforcement officers have immediate access to alien records entered with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and immigration information from every alien file maintained by DHS— approximately 100 million records—by using the formatted Immigration Alien Query (IAQ) screen incorporated within each state's law enforcement communications system. LESC Services In addition to providing immigration and identity information on suspected criminal aliens, the LESC offers other vital services, including:

National Crime Information Center

(NCIC)—The LESC administers and controls all ICE criminal and administrative records in this nationwide law enforcement consortium and criminal database. There are now over 277,000 ICE records in NCIC. Communications Center—The LESC operates a communications center that provides NCIC Hit Confirmations (within 10 minutes) to law enforcement agencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, the command center agents and officers place immigration detainers on aliens wanted by ICE. The command center also provides assistance on immigration alien queries, instant immigration status checks for ICE Officers, and answers the dedicated law enforcement phone lines. Other services provided by the command center include contacting ICE duty agents for ICE field responses, and handles ICEPIC/LEISS requests for information. A public affairs unit is also available to handle media calls during normal business hours. Special Response Tasks—The LESC is the central point of contact for a number of special information requests. For example, The LESC conducts “Brady checks” for the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), screening the immigration status of foreign-born, non-citizen firearm permit applicants before authorizing purchase or possession of a weapon. Since March 2003, the LESC has performed 498,741 Brady checks for the FBI. The LESC also provides daily assistance to the U.S. Secret Service by assisting in the screening of persons seeking to visit or work on the White House grounds. The LESC has helped USSS screen 377,944 individuals over the last seven fiscal years. Law Enforcement Training—To help the law enforcement community make better use of information the LESC provides, the center offers an on-site training and outreach program that provides instruction on how to access the LESC information and instruction on ICE's role and responsibilities. ICE 287(g) training includes an LESC training module presented by an LESC officer. Significant Accomplishments for FY 2010 The number of requests for information sent to the LESC increased from 4,000 in FY 1996 to 807,106 in FY 2008, to 1,133,130 in FY 2010 setting a new record for assistance to other law enforcement agencies. During FY 2008, special agents at the LESC placed 16,423 detainers on foreign nationals wanted by ICE for criminal and immigration violations. This number increased in FY 2010 to 20,446. The records of more than 270,000 previously deported aggravated felons, immigration fugitives and wanted criminals are now in the NCIC system. Special agents at the LESC confirmed 6,150 NCIC hits during FY 2010. Some LESC accomplishments since DHS and ICE were created in March 2003 include:

Over the past seven fiscal years, the LESC has responded to a combined total of 5,737,803 electronic queries. In FY 2010, the LESC received queries from more than 13,000 distinct ORIs (electronic addresses) representing law enforcement agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, two U.S. territories, and Canada. Since November 2004, the LESC has received more than 946,907 telephone calls on its dedicated law enforcement lines from law enforcement officers around the country seeking ICE information or assistance. The ICE special agents assigned to the LESC have lodged more than 121,734 ICE immigration detainers against criminal and wanted aliens over the last seven fiscal years. Of those, at least 51,837 detainers were placed on criminals or fugitives who were NCIC hits. Viable leads are sent electronically to ICE field offices for action or investigation within 24 to 48 hours of the call.

Comment:

If you know any undocumented Irish, do them a really big favor and share this with them. Make no mistake about it, it is not only persons who are arrested for serious crimes that can feel the wrath of ICE. Young undocumented Irish nationals who might have a "few beers" with their friends and are foolish enough to get behind the wheel of a car and get stopped,, or maybe get into a bit of an argument that winds up in fisticuffs where the police get involved, could very well be apprehended, detained, and eventually deported. And it is getting worse, the immigration authorities mean business. Remember, forewarned is forearmed!

Jack Meehan,

Past National President Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-06-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

No limit to this nauseating Provo hypocrisy

Kevin Myers - June 02 2011

I WAS against the peace process: I was and am and will always remain against it, which is why I do not spell it with capital letters.

I am in favour of peace, but not in favour of conciliating murderers and I believe it is the first duty of any state to impose its lawful monopoly on the use of armed might upon dissident armies within its realm -- by its own armed might, if necessary. One law: one army; one police.

But the Irish Republic chose to ignore these fundamental principles of any democracy and instead tried to deal with an insurgent terrorist force of the Provisional IRA by using various weak-willed adaptations of common law. The consequence was a conflict that lasted longer than both Boer Wars, the Anglo-Irish War and the two world wars combined.

So I bade a fond farewell to Garret FitzGerald last week for his contributions as a thinker: but I was silent about his role as Taoiseach, for which I feel much disdain, not least because although he wrung the Anglo-Irish Agreement from the British (Sunningdale II), he did not in exchange crush the living daylights out of the IRA. Nor did his predecessor, Liam Cosgrave, after Sunningdale I. And by the time of Sunningdale III, namely the Good Friday Agreement, Sinn Fein-IRA were in the political driving seat and able to do largely as they pleased.

Throughout the peace process and the gruesome minuet beforehand, no one ever told the Shinners, firmly and unequivocally: "This is how we do things. We do not murder our purely political opponents. We do not break legs. And by the Grace of a Limitlessly Forgiving God and some astoundingly supine terrestrial politicians, if you are ever lucky enough to be admitted into the sunlight of an open and accountable democracy, you will not insult the dead by foisting convicted killers on the institutions of state."

But this didn't happen, with the outcome that someone like Mary McArdle has now been made special adviser to Northern Arts Minister Caral ni Chuilin, or, as Eilis O'Hanlon pointed out in the 'Sunday Independent', just plain old Carol Cullen in her schooldays. That was before she came over all patriotic, and started dabbling in high explosives, when the Xmas Carol became the SemtX Caral. But her current chum, Mary McArdle, went one better, with her involvement with the gang which carried out the cold-blooded murder of 22-year-old Mary Travers during a gun attack on the Travers family as they left Sunday Mass in 1985.

This is how magistrate Tom Travers described his daughter's last moments: "At that time, Mary lay lying on her mum's breast, her gentle heart pouring its pure blood on to a dusty street in Belfast. The murderer's gun, which was pointed at my wife's head, misfired twice. Another gunman shot me six times. As he prepared to fire the first shot, I saw the look of hatred on his face, a face I will never forget."

Judge Travers told of how he and his family had heard the Pope in the Phoenix Park say: "Murder is murder and never let it be called by another name." Referring to the later and quite scandalous Irish Supreme Court objections to the extradition of IRA killers from this Republic, he added: "These people. . . (the judges of Ireland) must in reality have believed that murder could be called by another name."

Quite so.

Mary McArdle -- who was the operationally vital gun courier for the killers and who heard her victim's father repeatedly break down while giving evidence -- was imprisoned for life for her part in this disgusting murder. She smiled and waved at her family at the sentence: clearly, a lovely girl. Her co-accused was acquitted on the grounds that Tom Travers' evidence of identification might have been flawed. So much for the lie that nationalists could not get justice in Northern Irish courts. (For the record, as a mere civil magistrate, Tom Travers was not involved in terrorist trials -- and nor should this make any difference to any but the most demented of Sinn Fein cultists).

AFTER poor Mary Travers' sister Ann spoke on 'Liveline' last week about her distress at hearing that the co-murderer of Mary had been rewarded with a prize appointment in the Stormont Executive, there were the usual sanctimonious cries from Sinn Fein that though the killing was "regrettable", Mary's family should "move on". Better still, there came the accusation that for victims' families to complain now was to put the perpetrators at risk of retaliatory violence.

I know, I know: in SF/IRA martyrology, the victims ALWAYS become the culprits. Why can't patriots be allowed to kill as much as they want and then live in peace and prosperity, just as in the good old 1920s?

So the Shinners still luxuriate in their own selective amnesia, still furiously demanding enquiries into the Monaghan and Dublin bombings and into the murders of Seamus Ludlow and Eddie Fullerton.

And why wouldn't they? Because no one in government, North, South, East or West, ever takes them by the scruff of their self-pitying necks, waves a mailed fist under their nose and tells them to shuck the fut up, or else.

Comment:

Please read this article carefully and then try to explain rationally what the difference is between this act of cold blooded murder allegedly committed by an IRA death squad and the cold blooded murder of civil rights attorney Pat Finucane allegedly committed by a loyalist death squad. Murder is murder, is murder, and in these two cases, there is only one significant difference and that is the political and/or paramilitary affiliation of the perpetrators. Do those affiliations provide any rationalization or justification for committing such heinous crimes? They certainly do not and those who authorize them as well as those who commit them deserve nothing less than to be punished to the full extent of the law.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-05-23T13:22:00.001-07:00

The Non-Existent Irish-American Vote

Posted: 05/18/11 01:30 PM ET

I'm delighted to see President Obama make good on his campaign promise to visit Ireland. He has a great ability to inspire and if any place needs a 'yes we can moment,' it's Ireland.

There are already the inevitable suggestions that he is making the trip as part of his 2012 re-election campaign. The Irish Independent reported that "his popularity is likely to soar among the Irish-American vote." And the Irish Examiner claimed that the Irish- American vote "will be vital" in the election. But the thing is, there is no 'Irish vote.' Irish-Americans are Democrats and Republicans, Catholics and Protestants, and there are no galvanizing issues around which a significant number of them rally.

You don't find breakdowns of voting on the basis of ethnicity, except for the Latino vote. When people suggest x% of Irish-Americans voted a certain way, you'll likely find they simply take the percentage of Catholics that voted a certain way and call that the Irish vote.

But that is spurious. More than half of Irish America is Protestant. And the Irish are but one segment of the Catholic vote. Latinos now make up the largest segment of that vote, which also includes Italians, French and Poles. So you can't simply take the Catholic vote and suggest that it is Irish. Nor can you assume that all Irish-Catholics vote the same way.

Catholic voters are of interest in the U.S. because they are swing voters -- they have been on the winning side of presidential elections since 1972. Hillary Clinton got the majority of the Catholic vote in the Democratic primaries and she didn't win the nomination. So if you believe there is an Irish vote and Hillary Clinton got it, wouldn't that mean that Obama won despite the Irish vote?

The fact is, demographics and political power have changed in America. Rahm Emanuel was just inaugurated as the first Jewish mayor of Chicago, a city long led by the Daleys. When Thomas Menino became the mayor of Boston back in 1993, he was the first non- Irish mayor in about 60 years. Ted Kennedy, Tip O'Neill and Daniel Patrick Moynihan are all, sadly, no longer with us.

People who vote can be many things: male/female, Catholic/Protestant, blue collar worker/college-educated, urban/rural, etc. The proverbial white guy in rural Pennsylvania (a place I know something about as I come from there) will make up his mind about Obama (if he hasn't already) because of the economy, Social Security, Medicare, guns, abortion, education, Afghanistan and several other factors.

You could count on one hand the number of people who would vote for the President on the basis of his stopping in Ireland for less than 24 hours.

I think it's great that the president is visiting for the simple reason that there is no surer way for him to have a positive feeling about Ireland than to visit himself. We see it every year with the impact Ireland has on our George J. Mitchell Scholars. And I recall when President Clinton rang Senator Kennedy from Ireland in 1995 to say his days there were the best of his presidency to date. But I won't pedal nonsense about an Irish vote that doesn't exist. The visit simply is what it is. The president has already visited ten European countries. It would be a disappointment if he didn't visit Ireland. It just gets silly to suggest he's going to all these countries for votes when most Americans won't even register that he's been there. Do any Irish people vote for the Irish prime minister because he's visited the U.S.?

Some Irish will also go along with the fiction of the power of the Irish vote because, as one journalist once said to me, 'it's what we want to believe about ourselves.' It reminds me of something said by the haughty JohnnyPateenMike in Martin McDonagh's play, The Cripple of Inishmaan: "Ireland mustn't be such a bad place so, if the Yanks want to come to Ireland to do their filming."

The only concern I have is that while some spin this trip to be more than it is, that only feeds into a sort of complacency about the real work that needs to be done to sustain the relationship for future generations. As the American civil rights activist Marian Wright Edelman would say, it's time to sell the shadow for the substance.

Comment:

I have not always agreed with Ms. Vargo since the days when she served on Ted Kennedy’s staff. However, she is “spot on” in her assessment of the non-existence of a cohesive Irish American voting block. In a way, that is probably a credit to the majority of Irish Americans in that it indicates that they are people who form their own opinions on issues and candidates for political office and vote in accordance with their own beliefs and the dictates of their own conscience. I, for one, would much rather be challenged for voting as a free thinking individual than be considered to be part of a group who are led around “like a bunch of sheep” by a small opinionated minority.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-05-19T12:15:00.001-07:00

Immigration reform: Just a political show

By Sam Youngman - 05/11/11 06:07 AM ET

Immigration reform is dead.

The White House knows it. Capitol Hill knows it. And deep down in their hearts, even those advocating for legislation that would provide illegal immigrants with a path to citizenship know it.

Legislative high-wire acts like raising the debt ceiling and avoiding government shutdowns are slam-dunks compared to immigration reform. Even passing healthcare reform might have been easier.

Yet there was President Obama on the southern border Tuesday, declaring that reform is one of the “big things” America can do.

The truth is, no matter how results-oriented Obama might be, he doesn’t have to pass immigration reform to win the Hispanic vote in 2012, and with it another four years in office. He just has to look like he’s trying, and get Republicans to take the bait and pick a fight.

In 2006, then-President George W. Bush made a serious run at reform, and it almost killed the Republican Party.

The nation’s fastest-growing voting bloc — hardly a monolithic group — was given a choice between the compassionate pro-amnesty Democrats who are at odds with Hispanics on social issues and a GOP that seemed to be led by anti-immigrant rants from Tom Tancredo despite cries for solutions from Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Republicans never really recovered on the issue, and the White House knows it.

McCain, who lost the presidential election to Obama and then went to the right on immigration to win another Senate term, makes a great Exhibit A.

White House officials have emphatically denied that Obama is merely playing politics on immigration, even though the administration has yet to offer any legislation or hardcore engagement on the issue.

Instead, Obama has held a series of meetings with Hispanic leaders, casting them as aimed at pressuring Congress to do something.

A Republican participant in one of the meetings said Obama is only “serious about appearing to be serious on the issue.”

“I sense that he is in deep [expletive] with the Hispanic community, which is a necessary base,” the Republican said. “The evidence against him would lead to a conviction. He has not done squat on this issue.”

So the president will make a big speech and hold numerous events to show how serious he is about getting something done on an issue where nothing will get done.

Republican strategists say that is politics at its most cynical, but that it will probably work.

“This approach has worked before,” said GOP strategist Leslie Sanchez. “It has become a campaign tactic rather than a legislative approach to solve a problem.”

Hispanic voters have matured as a bloc, Sanchez said, and they know when they are being used.

To make matters worse for Obama, Democrats and pro-reform groups have all but given up on the president, accusing him of not engaging enough or not using executive orders to right some of the wrongs.

Democrats like Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Ill.) have signaled that they have run out of patience with Obama, and are warning that it is not enough for the president to pay lip service to the issue.

Gutierrez has all but given up on a legislative solution, and is pressing Obama to do more with executive orders. The congressman told The Hill on Tuesday that it is no longer enough for Obama to accuse Republicans of not coming to the table.

“If it’s to show the community where the obstacle exists, the community already knows this,” Gutierrez said.

Despite the growing chorus of anger toward Obama from both sides of the aisle, the president is in good shape on the issue because he looks like he’s trying, and the opposition will shoot itself in the foot if it engages.

Even Gutierrez acknowledges that the politics make sense for Obama, saying he doesn’t “begrudge” the president’s immigration photo-ops with “Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty.” Obama recently invited two of the Hispanic stars of those shows to a White House meeting on immigration.

The Republican participant in one of Obama’s meetings acknowledged that for Obama to be successful, the GOP need only be predictable in going apoplectic over the prospect of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Republican strategists see the political dangers of Obama appearing to take the lead on the issue, and they are secretly terrified that the new Tea Party GOP will be even more vitriolic in its opposition to reform than in 2006.

“I think as Republicans we need a position on this that is other than the Tancredo position — ‘Send ’em all back and to hell with them all,’ ” said one Republican.

But it is unlikely that the serious GOP 2012 candidates are going to go in search of another divisive issue that could enrage the Tea Partiers.

That leaves the Republican Party at best silent on the issue and at worst perceived as racist and anti-Hispanic.

And it leaves Obama as the compassionate, results-oriented president who will get points for the effort while Hispanic voters scratch their heads and wonder why the Republican Party is so hell-bent on alienating them.

Comment:

Assuming that this is the Presidents strategy on a “hot button” issue that affects an estimated 13 – 15 million undocumented immigrants, why would anybody think that he is sincerely interested in any of the other issues that are only of interest to Irish Americans? Promises made by politicians seeking re-election , (including the President of the United States) mean absolutely nothing. If President Obama is, in fact, the compassionate, results – oriented president that he likes to project himself to be, it is time that we saw some tangible results on this and other issues of interest to Irish Americans.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-05-14T05:42:00.000-07:00

All we want is the truth about the hunger-strike on 30th anniversary

(Suzanne Breen, Sunday World)

This week is the 30th anniversary of the start of the hunger-strikers’ deaths. Award-winning journalist Suzanne Breen speaks to the mother of one of 10 dead men and a prisoner who was on the IRA fast.

She had no intention of letting him die. "I was horrified when other mothers didn't take their boys off the hunger-strike as they neared death," says Peggy O'Hara.

"I told Patsy, 'I don't care about Ireland or the world, I'll save you.'" He took a heart attack after eight weeks of refusing food in the H-Block protest, drifting in and out of consciousness.

"He whispered to me 'I'm sorry mammy, we didn't win. Let the fight go on.'" And so Peggy O'Hara honoured his wish. "Watching him die was wild hard. He was only 23.

"I sat beside him, moistened his lips and stroked his hair. Every Derry mother thinks her son is gorgeous but Patsy was. He had lovely dark eyes. In the end, he couldn't see out of them."

This week is the 30th anniversary of the death of the first hunger-striker, Bobby Sands. Patsy O'Hara died 16 days later and the deaths continued until August 1981. But anniversaries mean nothing to his mother. "Patsy is with me all the time," she says.

Aged 82 and immaculately dressed with a jet black beehive hair-style, Peggy O'Hara sits in her living room which is a shrine to her dead son. A gold crucifix Pope John Paul II sent him before he died is her proudest possession.

Ideological contradictions abound. A painting of Patsy O'Hara – a member of the Marxist INLA – hangs on a wall beside a dozen pictures of Padre Pio, the Blessed Virgin, and the Child of Prague.

The family pub had been blown up by the IRA and Peggy O'Hara certainly hadn't urged any of her sons into politics or violence: "When I heard one of them was at a civil rights' march, I went straight down, took the placard off him, went over to the man who gave it to him, strung it around his neck and hit him with my umbrella."

She began attending the marches herself, to keep an eye on her boys: "I saw peaceful protestors beaten to the ground and that changed me politically." In 1979, Patsy O'Hara was jailed for eight years for paramilitary offences.

Peggy remains "very proud" of her son but believes she should have taken him off the hunger-strike: "Patsy died for a socialist republic, not for what we have now. He didn't die for Stormont, a re-branded RUC, or accepting British rule."

Understandably, there is no sympathy for the hunger-strikers or their families in the unionist community. The 10 men who died had killed or were heavily involved in paramilitary activity. 'The slogan, 'The hunger-strikers had a choice, their victims had none', encapsulates that feeling.

But in the nationalist community, the hunger-strikers are generally viewed with either sympathy or support. Their deaths remain an open wound with some republicans believing the last six men could have been saved had an offer from the British been accepted.

Gerard Hodgins, then aged 22, was 20 days on hunger-strike when the fast was finally called off in October 1981. Every time he visits Milltown Cemetery – where Bobby Sands, Joe McDonnell, and Kieran Doherty are buried – he knows he could be lying there too.

"I was totally prepared to die. The first few days on hunger-strike were the hardest. After that, it gets easier physically and the battle is in your head. Though, the food we were offered in the H-Blocks improved hugely in an attempt to tempt us off.

"Tomato ketchup suddenly appeared on our pies. It was the first time in six years in jail, I'd ever seen tomato ketchup!"

Hodgins was worried his parents would take him off the protest when he lost consciousness: "I thought about a marriage of convenience to an IRA girl who would then become my next of kin and let me die."

Thirty years later, he has "no regrets" about his choices and speaks of the "tremendous courage" of the 10 men who died. But he questions Sinn Féin's account of events.

Richard O'Rawe, the prisoners' publicity officer during the hunger-strike, has claimed the British made an offer effectively granting four of the hunger-strikers' five demands but the proposal was rejected by Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and their 'kitchen cabinet'.

Hodgins initially didn't believe him: "I called Richard a lying b******. On release from jail, I'd worked in the Sinn Féin press office in the late 1990s. I wasn't anti-Sinn Féin.

"But then, at a meeting in Donegal, I heard Richard answering every question thrown at him from the floor. I began to think, very reluctantly, 'this man is telling the truth'. I started looking into it myself. I listened to the leadership's shifting stories.

"British government documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act supported Richard's account. I showed up at a Sinn Féin briefing on the hunger-strike in Gulladuff in 2009 – they wouldn't even let me in."

Richard O'Rawe says Hodgins is one of a growing number of former blanketmen who believe him: "After I first spoke out in 2005, I had pariah status in West Belfast. Now, so many ex-prisoners come up, shake my hand and tell me they've had their eyes opened.

"The hunger-strikers' faces are constantly before me. It's a horrible story of a small Sinn Féin clique deciding that my comrades had to die to open up the way for Sinn Féin in elections."

Gerard Hodgins believes the truth about the "murky world" of negotiations between the republican leadership and the British during the hunger-strike wouldn't hurt Sinn Féin politically but that the leadership fears it may "tarnish their reputations in the history books".

He is urging Sinn Féin to release details of all British offers – verbal and written – and all internal republican documents, from 1981. "On the 30th anniversary of the hunger-strikers' deaths, that would be a fitting tribute," Hodgins says.

"It would mean far more than Munich-style marches carrying hunger-strikers' pictures, or the crocodile tears about their sacrifice, or the fancy wall murals. All we want is the truth."

Comment:

I came to know Peggy O’Hara and her son Tony through her brother, Joe McCloskey who is a very dear friend and Brother Hibernian. I have visited Peggy in her home in Derry on several occasions when I was visiting Joe. On those visits we spoke of many things including the story of Patsy’s involvement in the republican movement, his arrest and incarceration, his participation in the blanket protest, and finally his decision to join the hunger strike in 1981 which culminated in a horrible death by starvation along with nine other brave young Irish Patriots.

I have read Richard O’Rawe’s book “Blanketmen” which is a first hand, “blow by blow” account of the miserable conditions that these men were exposed to and what caused them to make the decision to embark on what they considered was the last avenue left open to them - the Hunger Strike of 1981. After reading the book and subsequently receiving first hand information from Patsy’s family and from “Mags” Devine Thompkins, sister of Mickey Devine, the last hunger striker to die, I have concluded that there could very well be reason to doubt Sinn Fein’s account of the Hunger Strike. “Mags” Devine married Billy Thompkins, a friend from Boston who was also a very active member of FOIF. She and the Devine family, including Mickey’s son, Mickey Jr., shared the same views as Richard O’Rawe, the O’Hara family, and IRA legend Brendan Hughes. I believe that “Blanketmen” and Brendan Hughes’ book, “Voices from the Grave” should be mandatory reading for anybody who wishes to learn all aspects of the armed conflict in Ireland and its effect on the participants.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has called for an Independent Truth Commission to investigate state sponsored murders during the armed conflict for some time now. A very simple yet very pertinent question arises if a Truth Commission is ever convened: Will the truth about the events surrounding the Hunger Strike of 1981 be thoroughly and impartially investigated and will their “unvarnished conclusions” be made available to the families of the hunger strikers and the general public? Surely, the families of these brave young men deserve to know all of the facts surrounding the death of their loved ones. The truth shall set us free!

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-05-09T07:53:00.000-07:00

To all Hibernians,

I, for one, am deeply disappointed and more than mildly disturbed that the recent press release, as well as the letter sent to President Obama, from the A.O.H. National Board, makes no mention whatsoever other then a paltry single sentence on one of the most pressing issues facing the Irish in America today - that of Irish immigration.

There are an estimated 40 - 50 thousand Irish nationals living in the United States today in an undocumented status. The vast majority of these people came here legally on the visa waiver program. Subsequently, they found that the United States offered them far more opportunity to make a better life for themselves than was available in Ireland. They decided to stay in violation of the terms of their visa waiver. To be sure, this was wrong and I am not trying to condone it, but overstaying is merely a misdemeanor in U.S. federal law not a felony.

We, as Hibernians, are bound by our national constitution to work on behalf of Irish immigrants. Our advocacy for them has been one of our major duties since our inception in 1836. The resolution to the plight of the undocumented Irish in the U.S. is not an insurmountable problem and it can be achieved if a sufficient amount of political will on the part of both nations to do so was applied. Unlike other issues mentioned in the press release and the letter to President Obama, there is no third nation involved in the resolution to the plight of the undocumented Irish.

I also believe, very strongly, that a permanent resolution to the plight of undocumented Irish nationals currently living in the U.S. must be reached before expending political capital on any legislation which would allow more Irish to come here on non-immigrant (temporary) visas such as the E-3 Program between the U.S. and Australia. The E-3 Visa Program as it is currently written does nothing to alleviate the problems of undocumented Irish nationals currently living in the United States.

Speaking as a former A.O.H. National Chairman of Immigration, it is my honest belief that the immediate need for a change in U.S. immigration policy that would provide a resolution to the undocumented Irish issue should take preference over issues that took place over 30 years ago.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-05-08T07:30:00.001-07:00

US confirms four victims of Bin Laden raid were unarmed

By Martin Evans in London Friday May 06 2011

FOUR of the five people killed when US Navy Seals stormed Osama bin Laden's hideout were unarmed, contrary to America's original version of events, it was disclosed last night.

The al-Qa'ida chief had weapons --an AK47 assault rifle and a pistol -- within arm's reach but did not get to them before being shot, officials said.

The White House had insisted US forces had been "engaged in a firefight throughout the operation" when they attacked the compound in Pakistan on Sunday night.

But rather than mounting the assault amid a hail of bullets, as was first suggested, Pentagon sources have now confirmed the only shots came from a sole gunman.

Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, Bin Laden's trusted courier, had been hiding behind a door in a guest house adjacent to the main building when the raiding party began their assault.

He opened fire, but was soon killed, after which no other shots were fired from within the compound during the 38-minute mission.

Despite this admission, official sources insisted US Navy Seals had faced a "threatening and hostile environment" as they scoured the compound looking for their target. But they were forced to confirm yesterday that none of the other four people killed -- including one of Bin Laden's sons and an unnamed woman -- were carrying weapons.

The latest inconsistencies will intensify theories that the Pentagon has not been entirely transparent about events.

Orders

The most recent account differs considerably from the information first released on Monday.

What is known is that, on the orders of President Barack Obama, a small team travelling in attack helicopters crossed the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan at around 8.00pm on Sunday evening.

As they arrived at the compound in Abbottabad, Bin Laden's courier, thought to be the person who unwittingly led the CIA to their target, opened fire. He was quickly shot dead and no American troops were wounded.

The team then moved through the compound as they hunted for Bin Laden.

Despite having spent months gathering intelligence, US officials have admitted they were not 100pc certain he was in the compound.

The team then encountered another man, thought to be al-Kuwaiti's brother, a close aide of the al-Qa'ida leader. Despite being unarmed, he was also shot dead.

An unidentified woman was also killed after officials claimed she was caught up in crossfire.

The White House also confirmed one of Bin Laden's sons was shot dead in the raid, but initially failed to give details, adding to the confusion by naming both Hamza and Khaled as victims; last night they confirmed it was Khaled.

Troops then entered the compound's main building and located Bin Laden and his wife in a room on the second floor. US officials insisted bin Laden did resist and had weapons within his reach.

Comment:

I would make the following suggestion to any bleeding hearts who think that it makes a damn bit of difference whether this murderous animal was armed or not. Direct your sympathies toward the three thousand unarmed victims of 9/11 and the loved ones that they left behind. God Bless Navy Seal Team #6, God Bless our Troops, and God Bless America. Justice has been served.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-04-03T06:09:00.001-07:00

Politicians condemn fatal bomb attack on policeman

DAN KEENAN Northern News Editor in Omagh - Sun, Apr 03, 2011

PSNI chief constable Matt Baggott has held crisis talks with British prime minister David Cameron, Northern Secretary Owen Paterson and Stormont justice minister David Ford after dissident republicans murdered a newly-graduated PSNI officer outside his home in Omagh, County Tyrone.

The victim has been named locally as Ronan Kerr (25), a Catholic who lived at Highfield Close on the Gortin Road on the outskirts of the town. He died when a device placed under his car exploded shortly before 4pm yesterday. He died shortly afterwards. Mr Kerr had graduated from training college last December and was living in Omagh.

He was a former pupil of the Christian Brothers Grammar School in Omagh and was targeted outside his home as he left to start a shift at Enniskillen Police Station in County Fermanagh, about 30 miles from his home in Tyrone.

Chief constable Matt Baggott paid tribute to his colleague. “We have lost one of our brave and courageous police recruits, some one who joined this fine service simply to do good, joined to serve the community impartially and to be someone I describe as a modern-day hero,” he said.

Supt Pauline Shields said: “He has literally been with us for weeks. “In those few weeks that he has served this community he has made an indelible mark on those colleagues and those members of the public with whom he has come into contact.”

The Omagh fun run, with 2,000 competitors had passed the scene an hour before the device exploded. Neighbours in the small housing development rushed to help the young police officer and some used fire extinguishers in an attempt to save him.

The victim is the second officer to be murdered since the PSNI was established in 2001.

Stephen Carroll was shot dead by a Continuity IRA as he answered a call in Craigavon, Co Armagh in March 2009. He too was a Catholic.

Condemnation of the atrocity from politicians and the four main church leaders was swift and wide-ranging.

Cardinal Sean Brady said: “I implore the perpetrators of this shameful killing to realise the futility of their actions, and to call off this senseless campaign."

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the murder was a “heinous and pointless act of terror”. “Those who carried it out want to drag us back to the misery and pain of the past. They are acting in defiance of the Irish people. They must know that they can never succeed in defeating the democratic will of the people,” he said.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore said: “Those behind such violence have no mandate and are acting contrary to the democratic will of the people of Ireland, North and South.

President Mary McAleese said: “This heinous crime will not succeed in its evil intent of destroying the peaceful and democratic future to which the people of Northern Ireland are so clearly committed.”

Northern Ireland First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson said: “It was a young man who was bravely entering the police service, recognising that he was putting his life on the line. “I have absolutely no doubt the overwhelming number of people in NI want to move on. It's only a few Neanderthal who want to go back. They will not drag us back to the past.”

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said: “I want to condemn what happened in Omagh this afternoon. I want to send my condolences to his family at this hugely traumatic time.”

British prime minister David Cameron said: “I utterly condemn the murder of a young police officer today in Omagh, who had dedicated himself to serving the entire community of Northern Ireland. “I know that the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland will not rest until the perpetrators have been brought to justice.

“For our part, the British government stands fully behind the Chief Constable and his officers as they work to protect Northern Ireland from terrorism. And we, with our partners in the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government, stand four square behind the people of Northern Ireland who have said time and again they want a peaceful, shared future.”

Ulster Unionist leader Tom Elliott said: “The callous murder of this young officer will come as a great shock to the local community and my thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues at this time.”

Northern Secretary Owen Paterson, said the murder was “an evil act, carried out by enemies of the whole community”. “The people in all parts of Ireland and beyond want peace and those who carried out this atrocity are in the grip of an obscene delusion if they think that by murder they can defy their will,” he said.

SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie said: “This has not only stunned the people of Omagh, it has stunned the entire country. This is not what the people want. They cannot be allowed to continue their campaign.”

Comment:

It seems that whenever a heinous and cowardly act such as this occurs politicians of every stripe can’t wait to see their statements of “righteous indignation “ printed in the newspapers. In recent times, I can recall the murder of Constable Stephen Carroll in Craigavon and the bombing of Constable Peadar Heffron’s car which, by the grace of God, did not kill him but left him with life altering injuries. I can’t help thinking that as soon as these atrocities are no longer newsworthy, they are filed away as unsolved crimes and the families of the victims are left alone to deal with their loss. Tragically, it appears that the shadow of the gunmen still lurks over the six northern counties of Ireland.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-03-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

Sinn Fein in cross-border talks

Sunday, 20 March 2011

Sinn Fein will bring its strengthened team of southern representatives to Stormont on Monday for the first time since the party's General Election gains in the Republic.

Sinn Fein Assembly group leader John O'Dowd said the party's 14 Dail members will meet MLAs to plan their cross-border political strategy.

The meeting comes as deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness urged National University of Ireland graduates living north of the border to back a Sinn Fein candidate for the Seanad elections in the south.

The elections to the upper house of the Oireachtas follow Sinn Fein's General Election outing where it increased its 2007 tally of 4 TDs to 14.

Mr O'Dowd said on Sunday: "Tomorrow's meeting will see 41 Sinn Fein TDs and MLAs gather in Stormont for the first time since the recent southern election.

"This first meeting will focus primarily on advancing the united Ireland and all-Ireland political agenda.

"No other political party on this island has the depth and geographical spread of Sinn Fein elected representatives. We are the only party with a strategy and a team to deliver all-Ireland political change."

He added: "Others talk about the all-Ireland agenda. Sinn Fein are the all-Ireland agenda in action."

His comments came as the party hopes its political gains in the Republic will help boost its campaign in Northern Ireland ahead of the May 5 Assembly election and local government elections.

Mr McGuinness said he also hoped Sinn Fein could ensure a presence in the Seanad and urged northern voters entitled to participate in elements of the election to support party candidate, former Belfast city councillor, Eoin O Broin.

Comment:

Eoin O’Broin is a writer and policy analyst based in Dublin and has been active in Sinn Fein politics for several years. In his recent book “Sinn Fein and the Politics of Left Republicanism”, he argues that Sinn Fein is part of a distinct left republican tradition in Irish society whose future lies in the “globally resurgent radical democratic left”. In radical left doublespeak, he is referring to Marxist Socialism.

Make no mistake about it, by their own admission it is Sinn Fein’s long held commitment to establish Ireland as a “32 County Socialist Republic”. As a proud citizen of both the United States of America and Ireland, the very thought makes me nauseous.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-03-11T18:10:00.001-08:00

Irish government agenda may clash with church on schools, gay marriage

By Michael Kelly - Boston Pilot - Posted: 3/9/2011

DUBLIN (CNS) -- Ireland's new governing coalition adopted a legislative agenda that looks likely to put it on a collision course with Catholic leaders and other faith groups on gay marriage and plans to reduce church influence in schools.

However, at least one Catholic leader welcomed the coalition's commitments on social welfare and overseas development aid.

Fine Gael sought the support of the Labor Party after the former won the most seats but not enough to form an overall parliamentary majority in a Feb. 25 general election in which the predominant issue was the country's economic crisis.

The coalition's legislative program proposes a constitutional convention to introduce same-sex marriage and remove the crime of blasphemy from the statute book.

Commenting on the issue of same-sex marriage, John Murray of the pro-family think-tank the Iona Institute told Catholic News Service that the move "would mean there is no longer any social institution aimed at encouraging men and women to raise their children."

"Currently opinion polls indicate substantial support for same-sex marriage, but this support is likely to be soft, and much of it would evaporate when the issue is properly debated," he said.

Catholic bishops have yet to comment on the legislative program. However, before the election campaign began, Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, warned that any move to undermine the family based on marriage between a man and a woman would be likely to face a Supreme Court challenge.

In education, the coalition proposes to "negotiate" the takeover of schools owned by the 18 religious congregations criticized in the 2009 Ryan Report, which investigated abuse into church-run government institutions, such as orphanages. A spokesman for the congregations refused to comment but insisted that the congregations retained all their constitutional rights to private property. The schools are owned and operated by the religious congregations but receive 100 percent state funding.

The coalition's agenda also includes plans to change the current exemption in equality legislation that allows the churches and other faith-based organizations to refuse to employ people whom they think may undermine the ethos of the religious group or institution. Catholic bishops and their Anglican counterparts successfully fought plans to remove the exemptions in 2008 and would be likely to form an alliance against the move again.

While the Labor Party campaigned on a platform that would see the legislation of abortion in Ireland, Fine Gael, which is opposed to abortion, appears to have prevailed. The abortion issue will be referred to an "expert group" for recommendations.

Abortion remains illegal in Ireland. However, a 2010 decision of the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the country's law on the issue was insufficiently clear and needed to be clarified.

In a statement congratulating all new legislators, the Irish bishops' conference reminded them of the "obligation to defend the dignity of every human person and protect the common good."

"Strengthening the family, based on marriage between a man and a woman, as well as promoting and protecting human life at all its stages is fundamental in this regard," the bishops said.

Missionary of Africa Father Sean Healy, a prominent social justice campaigner, welcomed the coalition's commitments to stop cutting social welfare rates and to reverse the cut in the minimum wage that had been introduced by the outgoing government.

The agenda also commits to reach the target -- set for years by developing countries -- of spending 0.7 percent of the gross national product on overseas development aid by 2015.

Comment:

The only comment necessary is that this is but another testimonial to the fact that Ireland is well on its way to becoming another European secular society. Sadly, they are losing the moral compass that identified them for many years as the most Catholic nation in Europe.

Jack Meehan, Past National President Ancient Order of Hibernians in America Knights of Columbus - 4th Degree

2011-03-06T07:50:00.001-08:00

Sum for outgoing TDs tops €13m

PAMELA DUNCAN and JOANNE HUNT - Sat, Mar 05, 2011

TD PAYMENTS : OUTGOING TDs from the 30th Dáil are to receive more than €13 million in pension lump sums and termination payments over the course of the next year according to figures compiled by The Irish Times.
This figure excludes any outgoing Ministers’ severance payments as the Department of Finance could not disclose individual members’ pension payments.
The €13 million figure is the total of “lump sum entitlements” for departing TDs as detailed in the accompanying graphic.
The outgoing TDs will also receive a cumulative total of more than €4 million annually, although TDs who are under the age of 50 will not receive their full pension entitlement until they reach this age.
Retiring and outgoing Fianna Fáil TDs will receive more than €8.5 million in pension lump sums and termination payments, not including ministerial severance/pension payments.
The two highest pension entitlement recipients are Taoiseach Brian Cowen and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern who will receive in the region of €350,000 in the year following their retirement once their ministerial pensions are taken into account. Each man will also receive about €165,000 annually once all lump sum, termination payments have been completed.
In addition to the pension payments, the two men will be entitled to a car and two garda drivers, two secretarial assistants for a period of five years and one thereafter, payment of mobile phone charges and a diplomatic passport.
A spokesman for the Taoiseach’s office said the arrangements had been put in place in 2001 to “facilitate former taoisigh in carrying out their ongoing public roles including as members of the Council of State (where they have a formal duty to advise the President), as well as their participation in public events, dealing with correspondence and contributing to public life, including co-operating with researchers in various areas such as history, administration and political science”.
Other high-ranking retirees include Minister for Health and Tánaiste Mary Harney who is entitled to about €320,000 in the next year if she chooses to draw down her ministerial pension on top of other pension entitlements.
Over the course of the next year outgoing TDs will receive payments.
The first, a pension lump sum, is worked out from a TD’s salary as per the 2008 rate, which is about 7.5 per cent more than the figure to which TDs are entitled, and depends on how long the politician has served in office. This figure is taxable.
A second payment, called a termination lump sum, is based upon two month’s of a TD’s salary: the basic salary for a TD is €92,672 although up until and including this tranche of retirees long-service increments applied to those with more than seven years’ service and more than 10 years’ service receiving €95,550 and €98,424 respectively. This payment is non-taxable.
On top of this a TD is entitled to a series of termination payments depending on their years in office. Those TDs with 14 years service or more are entitled to receive the equivalent of three-quarters of their monthly salary for six months and 50 per cent of their monthly salary. Those who have served fewer years receive fewer of these payments based on a sliding scale. These payments are taxable.
Only when all pension lump sum and termination payments have ceased does a TD receive his or her annual pension.
In addition, TDs who have served as ministers also receive a separate annual pension payment based on a percentage of their ministerial salary. Outgoing Ministers can, for the first two years, opt for either a severance payment or receive their ministerial pension entitlements now.
Commenting on the pension payments for outgoing TDs and Ministers last night a spokesman for Fine Gael said the party “will abolish severance pay for ministers. We will restrict the payment of pensions to politicians so that a pension can only be received after someone has ceased to be a TD and reached the national retirement age (currently 65). We will cap taxpayers’ subsidies for pension schemes for politicians (and indeed for everybody) that deliver income in retirement of more than €60,000.”

HOW THE PAYOUTS ARE MADE UP

Figures are estimates based on guidelines provided to The Irish Times by the Oireachtas and Department of Finance press offices. The figures do not include pension payments arising out of years served in the Seanad or tenure as committee chairs. A TD’s pension is payable only once their termination payments have been completed.
Lump sum entitlement is calculated as the TD pension lump sum plus the TD’s termination pay.
Annual pension is calculated as the annual TD pension plus annual ministerial pension where applicable.
Legend:
* To qualify for a full pension and lump sum a former TD must be 50 years of age while a reduced pension may be paid at any time between the ages of 45 and 49
** This TD/Minister is known to come under the old pension scheme. According to both the Department of Finance and the Oireachtas press offices, this older scheme applies in a minority of cases.

Comment:

Is it any wonder that Ireland is in the colossal economic mess that they find themselves in? While beleaguered Irish taxpayers have been required to bear the burden of unbearable increases in every area of their lives, these “layabouts” are gingerly walking away with huge golden handshakes and lifetime pensions that the average Irish worker can only dream about. Surely, this would be a great place for the new government to prove that they mean business and make some of the necessary cuts in their attempt to bring the country back to economic solvency.

Jack Meehan, Past National President
Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-03-03T07:08:00.000-08:00

"Protests at Military Funerals Are Protected Speech, Justices Rule

The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that protests and picketing at military funerals are protected by the First Amendment's free-speech guarantee, taking precedence over the mourners' right to privacy.

The court decided 8-1 to uphold a lower court decision in favor of members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., who frequently stage protests at private military funerals to promote the church's claim that God is angry at America for its tolerance of homosexuality, with signs bearing messages like "Thank God for Dead Soldiers," "You're Going to Hell" and "God Hates the USA."

The ruling was a defeat for Albert Snyder, the father of a Marine killed in Iraq in 2006, whose funeral at a Catholic church in Westminster, Md., was picketed by the Westboro group."

Comment:

This horribly misguided decision by no less than 8 of 9 U.S. Supreme Court “justices” is so utterly appalling that it leaves one speechless. It is nearly impossible to imagine the devastating effect that this abomination will have on the family of this heroic young U.S. Marine who paid the supreme sacrifice in the service of our country. It is inconceivable to me and I am sure to thousands upon thousands of decent American citizens who believe that there positively are limits to the right to “free speech”, how the 8 people who made this horrible decision can look in the mirror this morning. They have brought shame upon the highest court in the land and, I believe, to the original intent of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. May God Bless the family of this true American hero and all men and women who have answered the call to honorably serve our country.

Jack Meehan, Past National President
Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-02-24T07:13:00.001-08:00

Downturn puts N Ireland peace under fire

By John Murray Brown - February 24 2011 – Financial Times

A large steel plate covers the spot where an IRA rocket embedded itself in the gable end of Dicky Magill’s grocery shop in the hard-bitten Kilwilkie estate in Lurgan, County Armagh.

“In the 1970s it was wild here,” says Martin Casey, who lives nearby. “There were gun battles all the time.”

Senior security officials are concerned that paramilitary activity may be on the rise again at a time of severe public spending cuts and a downturn in the local economy. They fear disaffected youths are being thrust into the arms of militant dissident groups that broke away from the mainstream IRA in protest at the peace strategy pursued by Gerry Adams, the Sinn Féin president, and Martin McGuinness, the former IRA leader who is now deputy first minister in the power-sharing executive.

“Of course there are kids who end up in gangs in Liverpool and Manchester and Dublin but they don’t have the potential to plant a 200lb bomb in a town centre,” says Peter Sheridan, a former senior policeman who heads Co-operation Ireland, a charity involved in an innovative project to help young people on the estate find work placements.

“We’re trying to pick the people who might be the Martin McGuinness or the Jackie McDonald [an infamous loyalist leader] of the future. The natural leaders,” he says.

Economists question the direct link between paramilitary violence and public spending, arguing that Northern Ireland throughout the Troubles received a much higher level of public spending – and is still a third higher – than the UK average and yet the IRA campaign went on.

Today the problem is exacerbated by the splitting of responsibility for the security response to the dissident threat between London and the devolved administration at Stormont, which since last year has been in charge of policing.

The voluntary sector and other outreach services provided to those communities affected comes from the devolved budget, which has been cut by 11 per cent, although this is considerably less than many Whitehall departments.

Nonetheless, local politicians believe there is a danger essential community work could be undermined. Alex Attwood, social development minister, says: “It is essential that community and voluntary sector groups that do the hard work in areas where other government agencies don’t go are protected.”

He says the dissidents are “targeting those groups who feel they did not get a dividend from peace”.

A senior police officer who prefers to remain anonymous says the young men joining the splinter terrorist groups “don’t have a memory of the awfulness of what happened before but they think it’s exciting and they have nothing better to do”. He adds that the current crop have no support from the wider republican community.

Mr Sheridan points to the 17-year-old youth from Lurgan at present on remand for the murder of Stephen Carroll, an officer with the Police Service of Northern Ireland who was shot dead while on patrol in nearby Craigavon in January 2009 – the last security service person to be killed.

“That boy was only three years old when the IRA declared its ceasefire,” he says.

Mr Sheridan believes successive governments have not been active enough in promoting what he calls “peace building”, part of which is fostering reconciliation between communities. “Government isn’t particularly good at looking at the long term. But if we don’t do something the danger is we’ll be settling for segregation as a solution, which it isn’t.”

He reels off a depressing list of statistics to illustrate Northern Ireland’s community divisions. Since the ceasefires the number of “peace walls” erected by the authorities to separate rival Protestant and Roman Catholic neighbourhoods in Belfast has grown from 18 to 88. Social housing is now almost totally segregated. Integrated education, in spite of government support, covers just 9 per cent of schoolchildren.

“I don’t think people will ever live together,” says Mr Casey, the Kilwilkie resident. The problem is not lack of funding for community projects, he believes. “That’s appeasement money, I call it. Sinn Féin are given that money so they’ll not come back to the Troubles.”

Dolores Kelly, local assembly member for the Social Democratic and Labour party, also says it is “simplistic” to link dissident activity with economic deprivation. She recalls the son of one of her constituents, a well-paid civil servant, who was arrested while rioting.

She says one of the biggest problems is the continuing “glorification” by Sinn Féin of the events of the Troubles.

Others, however, insist it is wrong to discount the positive impact of the recently truncated economic boom, which did much to keep young men out of the clutches of the terrorist gangs.

Richard Ramsey, chief economist at Ulster Bank in Belfast, says the growth in construction during the property bubble “worked a little like a good social policy, mopping up skilled but also unskilled labour on both sides of the border”.

“There were clear benefits from the Celtic Tiger,” says the unnamed senior police officer. “There is no question about that.”

Comment:

I am very familiar with the Kilwilkie housing estate as I have many friends in Lurgan. This article solidifies a long held theory of mine that the ultimate success or failure of the peace process in Ireland lies not with this generation or past ones, but rather with the upcoming generation and future ones. Crucial to the effort to sustain the very fragile peace is supporting and nurturing cross community youth oriented programs. Ex-prisoner retraining programs, which at their inception were very commendable, have long since served their purpose. It is time not to forget the past, but to apply the mistakes learned from it and move on toward the future. As stated in the article, erecting more “peace walls” and glorifying the violence of the past is not the pathway to a peaceful and secure future. The youth of Ireland deserve much more. Is it any wonder that they are emigrating by the thousands?

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

Unite trade union says Left government can be formed with Sinn Féin

2011-02-22T15:05:00.000-08:00

Unite trade union says Left government can be formed with Sinn Féin

THE Unite trade union has urged people to vote to elect a left-wing government for the first time in Irish history. The union, the second largest in the state and a Labour Party affiliate, has also called on Labour to go into coalition with Sinn Féin and other Left parties and “progressive Independents” to make this happen.
“A vote for Fine Gael is a vote for more Fianna Fáil policies,” Unite the Union said. “There is nothing to be gained by helping Fine Gael back into office.”
Unite is encouraging the Labour Party to “look Left for coalition partners rather than to the old order of Fine Gael”, which it described as Fianna Fáil’s “political half-brothers”.
Jimmy Kelly, Regional Secretary of Unite the Union, said:
“The Left has never been stronger. Recent polls put the combined strength of the Labour Party and Sinn Féin at 40%. This is substantially higher than either of the right-wing parties.
“With the support of other Left parties and progressive Independents, a Left government is now a distinct possibility.”
The leading trade union activist added:
“We need to remove Fianna Fáil from government and keep their political half-brothers, Fine Gael, out too.
“A vote for Fine Gael is a vote for more Fianna Fáil policies.
“They will support massive cuts to public services, privatisation, more job losses across all sectors and social welfare cuts.
“There is nothing to be gained by helping Fine Gael back into office.”
The Unite spokesperson said that competition for votes and seats between Left parties is to be expected but:
“We should remember that progressives have more in common with each other than they do with either of the Civil War parties.
“For the first time we have an opportunity to move away from out-of-touch and outdated politics based on history rather than ideology.
“We can produce a legacy of genuine alternative views between Right and Left, social democracy and neo-liberalism.
“Right-wing politics based on the markets has failed utterly.
Unite will be calling on its members, trade unionists and all workers to use their votes to maximize left-wing seats.
We urge them to vote for, and transfer to, left-wing candidates.
“The electorate will decide what the next government will be.
“We all have an opportunity to elect the first Left government in the history of the state.”

Comment:

Anywhere in this article that you see the words “left wing” you can substitute the word “Socialist”. The last thing in this world that Ireland needs at this time is to become a country whose leadership subscribes to a political ideology that is no different than that of Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, or Vietnam. That is precisely what these radical Socialist political parties are trying to promote. The very thought of Ireland as a "Socialist Republic" should be enough to make any freedom loving person of Irish heritage nauseous.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-02-13T12:14:00.001-08:00

Muslim population growing in Ireland major influence seen as Islamic community expands

CATHY HAYES, IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

The Muslim community is growing in Ireland.

The Muslim population in Ireland has expanded substantially in the last several years, with 10 times more Muslims living in the country today than lived in Ireland 20 years ago. Islam has become the fastest-growing religion in Ireland, with the number of Muslims increasing nearly 70 percent between 2002 and 2006.
The Muslim community is also becoming more diverse. “This is probably one of the most diverse Muslim populations in Europe,” “The Irish Times” was told by Dr. Oliver Scharbrodt, who is leading a pioneering three-year research project on Islam in Ireland at University College Cork.
“In other European countries you have a particular ethnic group or nationality being dominant because of historical or colonial links, but that is not the case in Ireland. “One could say that Ireland constitutes a microcosm of the global ummah [community of believers], with all the different nationalities, trends and movements present and visible in a fairly small geographic and communal space.”
The Islamic Cultural Center of Ireland [ICCI], in Clonskeagh, Co. Dublin, an institution which has a long-standing relationship with the Irish government, is connected to the Brussels-based Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe.
The iman at the ICCI is the secretary of the European Council for Fatwa and Researchan, an offshoot of the federation. “With the [ICCI] hosting the secretariat of this leading body of Islamic jurisprudence, Ireland has become the center of one of the most influential ideological and intellectual trends of the contemporary Muslim world,” says Scharbrodt.
The ICCI has welcomed President Mary McAleese, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen and his predecessor Bertie Ahern, as well as many ministers.
Many Muslims have said that because of its size and financial resources the ICCI towers above other Muslim organizations as the self-appointed voice of Islam in Ireland, pushing aside diversity. Scharbrodt adds that the Irish government should engage with the diversity of Muslims in Ireland, particularly as the numbers grow and second-generation Muslims come of age.
“Ideally it should try to relate to and establish links with as many mosque groups and organisations as possible,” he said. The 2006 census put the number of Muslim living in Ireland under 33,000, but most observers agree the true figure is over 40,000.

Comment:

Forgive me for sounding cynical, but isn’t this just wonderful ! The Catholic Church is declining in what was once considered the most Catholic country in Europe and the Muslim “religion” is growing by leaps and bounds. I suppose the next thing we can expect will be a Muslim Brotherhood revolt in Dublin along the lines of what we have just witnessed in Egypt. God Save Ireland!!

Jack Meehan, Past National President
Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

2011-02-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

Fine Gael on course to govern by itself

Silent surge by voters spells drop for Independents and Labour

JOHN DRENNAN - Sunday February 06 2011

A series of constituency polls conducted by the Sunday Independent reveal that Fine Gael is agonisingly close to forming a single-party government for the first time since 1927.

The polls suggest that within the nation's constituencies, where party organisation and name recognition can give bigger parties a bounce, a silent surge to FG is occurring.

And if the swing continues the party will be on the cusp of actually securing an overall majority -- a political holy grail that hasn't been secured since the Jack Lynch era in Fianna Fail.

The Quantum Research poll across eight constituencies, which identifies local variations that would not show up in a national poll, puts Fianna Fail at 24 per cent.

The main government party for the last 15 years is trailing Fine Gael at 42 per cent. Labour is on 17 per cent.

In spite of ongoing issues with Enda Kenny's status as a leader, the party is now in contention to win an astonishing three out of five seats in constituencies like Cavan-Monaghan, Laois-Offaly and even Cork South Central.

The silent surge is not confined to rural areas. In Dublin West, Leo Varadkar is poised to clean up with just under a third of first preferences.

Whilst troubled Labour leader Eamon Gilmore secures a similar vote in Dun Laoghaire, the low first preference vote secured by Ivana Bacik means it is low-profile FG candidates Sean Barrett and Mary Mitchell O'Connor, rather than the Labour dream team, who are poised to win two seats in the constituency.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael, courtesy of Enda Kenny's stunning de Valera-style 25,000-strong vote, is now odds-on to win four out of the five seats in Mayo.

A number of other political heavyweights who are poised to rack up huge personal votes include Eamon Gilmore, Simon Coveney and Fergus O'Dowd, who on today's figures will top the poll in Louth with more than 16,000 first preferences.

The poll suggests that Eamon Gilmore will win a stunning 20,000 votes in Dun Laoghaire, while Simon Coveney is poised to secure more than 16,000 votes in Cork and defeat Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin in the battle of the Cork poll toppers by a margin of almost two to one.

In what would represent a seismic political development, today's poll reveals that the FF deputy leader and recent candidate for the leadership, Mary Hanafin, has lost half of her vote in Dun Laoghaire and admits she is "facing my biggest political battle ever".

But the key factor which may see the most likely future FF female leader lose her seat to the United Left Alliance is the dismal performance of her cabinet colleague Barry Andrews, who is languishing at 7 per cent.

There is more bad news for FF in the party citadel of Laois-Offaly where FG's Charlie Flanagan is poised to inflict a crushing defeat on the Taoiseach's brother Barry Cowen. But while the seat will stay in the Cowen family, sitting Fianna Fail TDs John Moloney and Sean Fleming are in real danger of losing theirs.

The government party will, however, experience some isolated successes as both Brian Lenihan and Willie O'Dea are safe. But when it comes to the battle of the Limerick bruisers Michael Noonan is poised to knock Mr O'Dea off his perch as the designated poll topper in Limerick City for the first time in 20 years.

When it comes to Sinn Fein it may come as a consolation to Willie O'Dea that the former minister's nemesis, Maurice Quinlivan, is floundering miserably at the bottom of the Limerick battlefield as the Sinn Fein tide goes out.

In Louth, Gerry Adams will win a seat but the former British MP is being trounced by a margin of almost two to one by the FG frontbencher Fergus O'Dowd.

According to the polls, Green minister Ciaran Cuffe will struggle to get more than a thousand votes in Dun Laoghaire whilst the high-profile party chairperson and twitterer Dan Boyle is in real danger of experiencing a similar humiliation.

Independents are also faring poorly, with Socialist big hitters such as Joe Higgins and Richard Boyd Barrett struggling to secure what were previously thought to be certain gains.

The rise in FG support detailed by the Sunday Independent's series of polls will also increase tensions between the putative coalition partners of FG and Labour.

It poses a real challenge for Labour strategists since Labour transfers could play a key role in carrying Fine Gael over the threshold where they might no longer require support from Labour to form a government.

FG spokespeople have consistently denied the existence of any plan to secure an overall majority.

But tensions have been increasing between the prospective partners.

One senior FG figure told the Sunday Independent yesterday: "We are starting to worry that FG and Labour together may not be good for the country. We have serious policies, we can do stuff, but how can this happen if we are tethered to a red post?"

Comment:

They say that a week is an eternity in politics never mind nearly three weeks but it looks like this election is Fine Gael's to lose. They could even form a government without a coalition. It will be very interesting to watch for any new developments.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

Bloody Sunday "Bringing the Truth to Light"

2011-01-31T07:02:00.001-08:00

Bloody Sunday "Bringing the Truth to Light"
Derry Journal – 31 January 2011

A captivated audience gathered at Derry's Guildhall on Friday evening for a special celebration evening chronicling the achievements of the Bloody Sunday Justice Campaign, entitled 'Bringing the Truth to Light'.

Panels featuring relatives, campaigners, lawyers and prominent politicians discussed the campaign, from its humble beginnings in 1992 until the elation felt during the release of Saville's report into the massacre on June 15 last year. The audience consisted of fellow campaigners, relatives, local people and many visitors to the city. A rapturous applause greeted celebrated local playwright Dave Duggan, who had attended despite recovering from recent illness.

Introduced by Colm Barton of the Bloody Sunday Trust, the event was then opened by some words of welcome and commendation by Mayor Colum Eastwood. A recital of Seamus Heaney's poem 'The Road to Derry' followed.

Relative and campaigner Tony Doherty and journalist Paul McFadden hosted the in-depth, informal discussion. Each panel of three guests was followed by a songs and poetry related to the events of Bloody Sunday.

Discussing the history of Bloody Sunday, Widgery's 'whitewash' and the early commemorations were local politician Mitchel McLaughlin, Paul O'Connor from the Pat Finucane Centre and Gerry Duddy, brother of Jackie Duddy. Next to take up the discussion was highly respected solicitor Patricia Coyle, relative Kay Duddy and campaigner Eamonn McCann. Patricia Coyle spoke of the significant evidence unearthed in the early 1990s at the Public Records Office in Kew Gardens, evidence that bolstered the urgency for a new investigation or inquiry into Bloody Sunday.

The third section of the discussion featured the recollections of Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, who spent years trying to secure a new Inquiry as part of the delicate Peace process, Jane Winters, campaigner and founding member of the Bloody Sunday Trust and Don Mullan, author of the bestselling 'Eyewitness Bloody Sunday'.
Speaking of the importance of a new investigation into the killings, Martin McGuinness described the previous 1972 tribunal by Lord Widgery as "a bucketful of lies."

The final and most emotive panel featured Geraldine Doherty, niece of Gerald Donaghey, Conal McFeely of the Bloody Sunday Trust and Sinn Fein MLA and fellow BST member Raymond McCartney. Geraldine Doherty spoke of the disappointment felt on June 15 last year when Saville ruled that, although deemed innocent alongside all the other victims, Donaghey "probably" had nail bombs on his person when he was shot on Bloody Sunday. Geraldine's mother, ardent campaigner Mary Doherty, passed away just months after the publication of the Saville Report without seeing Gerald's name cleared.

To close proceedings, a specially prepared film was screened capturing the momentous events of June 15 last year in Derry. Many left the Guildhall's main hall amid tears and hugs. Indeed, this event was a well-deserved celebration of all that these campaigners had collectively achieved.

Comment:
The only comment necessary is “at long last the innocent victims have been vindicated” and their families who tenaciously fought for justice for their loved ones over nearly four decades have finally achieved their goal. Perhaps now the innocents can finally rest in peace.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

1,000 a week forced to emigrate

2011-01-20T06:53:00.000-08:00

1,000 a week forced to emigrate

By Thomas Molloy and Aideen Sheehan - Thursday January 20 2011

MORE than 1,000 people a week are being forced to leave the country in a desperate bid to find work abroad.

The extent of the emigration crisis -- the worst in the history of the State -- is revealed today in a major new report by the State's economic think-tank.

Up to 60,000 people will have left the country between April 2010 and this April, alarming new figures by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) show.

And, it is predicted another 40,000 will leave in the 12 months after this as the slowdown continues to bite and unemployment remains the third highest in Europe.

Just 44,000 emigrated in 1989 when the last recession reached its peak.

According to the forecasts, Ireland will lose the equivalent of the population of Galway city this year and twice the population of Kilkenny city next year.

And the real loss is even higher because some people are still immigrating to Ireland. The ESRI's figures only look at the net figure or how the population changes.

Confirmation of the huge numbers emigrating undermine government claims the unemployment crisis is easing.

Although the numbers on the Live Register have fallen by 30,000 to 437,000 since last August, analysts have claimed this is mainly down to more young people leaving.

The drop in those signing on was most pronounced among under-25s -- the people who are fleeing the country in the largest numbers.

The ESRI's latest quarterly report on the economy holds out little hope for those without a job. Unemployment is forecast to average 13.5pc this year and post a slight drop next year following a "minuscule" rise.

Employment will remain elusive as economic growth is limited to the export sector, which produces few jobs.

Long-term unemployment is now at 6.5pc. Unemployment among the young is particularly severe with more than one- third of 15 to 19-year-olds out of work and more than a quarter of 20 to 24-year-olds.

"The weakness in the labour market for younger people in particular has given rise to the return of emigration and our forecasts envisage a continuation of this," the ESRI report said.

Investigation

ESRI economist Alan Barrett declined to say how many people are actually leaving the country when immigration is excluded. He also could not say what percentage are Irish and what percentage are foreigners returning home.

A recent investigation by the Irish Independent found almost 46,000 Irish citizens travelled to five key overseas destinations to find work in the last year.

This included almost 24,000 people who headed to Australia on work visas. Another 3,462 people emigrated to Canada, 4,444 went to New Zealand, over 1,700 travelled to the US and 600 headed for Germany.

More than 11,000 people are believed to have emigrated to the UK for work during 2010.

This is based on UK government figures showing 5,500 Irish citizens obtained UK national insurance numbers in the first six months of the year.

Peter Hammond, the director of the London Irish Centre in Camden, last night said most of the new people coming to the centre are in their 20s.

"Most other migrant groups emigrate as families to the UK, the Irish comes in twos and threes," he told the Irish Independent. "There are very few middle-aged people."

Comment:

These are frightening statistics, indeed, for a country which only a few short years ago was touted as the “most vibrant economy in Europe”. During the years when Ireland was referred to as the “Celtic Tiger”, the economy was booming. Jobs were so plentiful that workers from other EU countries poured into Ireland. The construction industry could not find enough workers to keep up with the demand for new housing which now lies vacant in various stages of completion. Merchants were hard pressed to keep up with the demand for goods and services needed by the large numbers of new immigrants. And then came the inevitable collapse of an economy which grew much too fast. The bills came due and there was no way to pay them. Tragically, today we are seeing a return to the days of high levels of emigration with no solutions offered by a totally inept government and no end in sight. The final solution will be a true test of the legendary resourcefulness and resilience of the Irish people to deal with adversity.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

Negotiating the US visa minefield

2011-01-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

Negotiating the US visa minefield

Niall Stanage – Irish Times – 9 January 2011

From the horror of the Famine to the bleakness of the last big recession, in the 1980s, Irish people have often tried to escape tough times by crossing the Atlantic. This time, although the US is in better shape than Ireland, it is hardly thriving. The recession and an unemployment rate of almost 10 per cent have taken much of the gloss off the Land of Opportunity.

Those who want to take their chances will have to negotiate thickets of immigration law. Even US visa classifications can be confusing, even intimidating, at first glance.

The picture becomes a lot simpler if you bear two points in mind. First, most people can safely ignore lots of visa classifications, as many are designed for specific applicants, such as diplomats, athletes and journalists. Second, the key division is between non-immigrant and immigrant visas. The terminology aims to distinguish between visas that can lead smoothly to full US citizenship and those that cannot.

All major visas are difficult to obtain – unless you are lucky enough to win the green-card lottery – which the US government prefers to refer to as the diversity immigrant visa lottery program. The deadline for this year’s draw was earlier this month.

Those who want to apply next year should take a realistic view: only 50,000 visas are issued worldwide, of which only about a third go to Europe.

There are two other main ways to get on the track to US citizenship. One is to be sponsored by an immediate family member. This remains the most common way of obtaining a green card, and eligibility is clear-cut: if you don’t have a spouse, a child under 21 or a parent who is an American citizen, you are out of luck, at least in the short term. (There are more drawn-out procedures for less immediate relatives.)

The other main route is to be sponsored by an employer. This can work well, but again it is important to be realistic. The employer will have to be willing not merely to offer you a job but also to prove that no American has the skills to fill the position. The speed with which such an application will be processed also depends on the applicant’s skill level. Green cards for those with “extraordinary ability” or who are “international managers” can be processed quickly. Visas for those on the lowest levels can sometimes take years.

As for non-immigrant visas, one relatively recent development was a September 2008 expansion of the well-known J1 visa. Whereas the J1 was once synonymous with summer trips, Irish students and recent graduates can now live and work in the US for up to a year.

Those who have left their student days long behind should keep in mind that an employer can sponsor an alien for a non-immigrant visa (the H1B) rather than a green card. They may be more willing to do so, as it is a slightly less onerous process, but they still have to vouch for the new arrival. In the current climate it could be difficult to prove that no American can do the job in question.

Overall, the situation is not especially bright. For people who are not students, recent graduates, green-card-lottery winners or relations of US citizens, the hurdles are high.

Some of those desperate for a taste of the American dream may think of moving to the US illegally. They would be better to think again. Getting caught will almost certainly result in deportation and restrictions on returning to the US; even success will condemn the illegal immigrant to years of waiting nervously for a tap on the shoulder.

Your first port of call should be the US embassy in Dublin (dublin.usembassy.gov/ visas.html), which provides a comprehensive rundown of the types of visas available.

Other useful websites include:

US Citizenship and Immigration Services uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

US Department of State state.gov

American Immigration Lawyers Association aila.org

Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs dfa.ie (for contact details for the Irish Embassy in Washington and consulates in other cities)

The most widely used site for classified ads – for housing and jobs, say – is craigslist.org.

Comment:

This is taken from an Irish Times series on current emigration trends from Ireland. Unlike a recent article which appeared in the Irish Independent containing some very misleading statements from people who should know better, this article gives some sound advice to young Irish people regarding immigration to the U.S. in these very difficult economic times. They would be well advised to give serious consideration to the negative aspects and possible consequences outlined here.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

US still land of opportunity for Irish illegal immigrants

2011-01-01T10:58:00.000-08:00

US still land of opportunity for Irish illegal immigrants

Sunday December 26 2010 - Irish Independent

THE United States is still the land of opportunity for anyone struggling to pay the bills or find work in Ireland, according to Irish groups in New York and San Francisco.
The eastern and western cities, long established gateways for the Irish, have already seen a rise in the number of undocumented immigrants looking for work.
Ciaran Staunton, of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform in New York and Celine Kennelly of the San Francisco Irish Immigration Pastoral Centre said most find work within days of arrival.
Ciaran added: "We've all heard the stories about the hardships of people living illegally out here and what it's like but the truth is, if you want to get away from all the problems in Ireland at the moment, and pay your mortgage or your credit card bill or whatever it is for a few years, it can be done out here.
"There are jobs for people here even if they come over illegally."
The Irish Pastoral Centre in San Francisco estimates there are more than 5,000 illegal Irish in the city and the number is growing every week. Before the Celtic Tiger the number was about 7,000.
Celine believes there will be a return to that level.
She added: "None of the illegals here are out of work. They are all earning money and doing ok for themselves. There are problems for people if they want to stay here long term because every time you go home, you might not be allowed back into the country. You're not allowed to get a driver's licence and that causes a lot of problems for people.
"But in the short term it is an alternative that people can consider."
The undocumented typically work in bars, restaurants and on building sites.
But many of the illegal Irish who travelled to the US and settled down only intended to stay for a short time.
Celine said: "Most people don't come here intending to settle down.
"They come over to get a job and make some money but then they meet someone and start a family or they get used to being here and it becomes their new home and it becomes harder to leave."
Celine cited one recent case of a woman who has made a new life for herself in San Francisco where she has a family, a home and a good job.
But when her grandmother in Ireland fell ill she had to choose whether to risk flying out to see her. If immigration refused to admit her back into the US she would have to uproot her young family, or live apart from them.
In the end the fear of not being allowed back into the US was too great. Her grandmother has since died.
The Irish in America also face a new danger. Members of the Republican Party, particularly those in the Tea Party, are trying to repeal one of the mainstays of the American constitution -- the automatic entitlement to citizenship of anyone born in the US.
Since 1868 the 14th amendment has allowed Irish parents secure for their children the rights they are denied.
Arizona senator John Kyl has joined the chorus of Republicans giving approval to altering the constitution.
He has called on Congress to discuss repealing the amendment, a move that would strike fear into the hearts of many Irish illegals.
However, some Republicans are reluctant to back such a proposal for fear of alienating Latino communities.

Comment:

I read this article in the Irish Independent yesterday and was absolutely infuriated by the myriad of potential problems that could result for young Irish people who are contemplating emigration from home, for those who are already here and are fortunate enough to be employed, for those who employ them, and for the many people who are working very diligently on a daily basis trying to resolve the many problems of the undocumented Irish already living here.

This is an open invitation for ICE to intensify their investigations at "bars, restaurants, and on building sites where the undocumented typically work" as is very stupidly stated in the article by Mr. Staunton and Ms. Kennelly. These people profess to help the undocumented, quite the contrary, when they disseminate false and possibly incriminating advice like this to unsuspecting young people in Ireland. They read this rubbish at home and decide to come here desperately seeking employment that, in actual fact, is no more readily available here than it is in Ireland.

I think that statements such as those made in this article, rather than helping young Irish people contemplating emigration, are enticing them into a situation where they, very likely, will violate their visa waiver and become subject to a ten year bar from re-entry if they ever leave the U.S. This type of misinformation needs to be "nipped in the bud" before it gets out of hand and causes further problems to people in the undocumented community.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America