US government should do more for Irish undocumented immigrants

More should be done to end the legal limbo in which undocumented immigrants from Ireland are caught in the United States, according to the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform co-founder, Ciaran Saunders. Saunders’ comments came in the wake of the Supreme Court defeat of the President Obama executive action plan for immigration reform.

Staunton says that the government of Ireland should start to get involved in the situation, describing it as a “nightmare.” Staunton wants to see the Irish Government engaged with the Dublin US Embassy and issue formal requests over the situation, while Charlie Flanagan, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, has admitted to being disappointed by the announcement. Flanagan says that a key objective of the government is to achieve relief for undocumented Irish immigrants and they intend to continue working with Capitol Hill and with Irish immigration activists to try to bring about immigration reform in the United States.

The measures taken by the President were put on hold by federal courts in Louisiana and Texas and with the Supreme Court split on partisan lines, Obama’s immigration policy now remains in permanent limbo along with millions of undocumented immigrants, including Irish immigrants.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Presidential candidate, slammed the Supreme Court for their decision, but the ruling is likely to give more impetus to Republicans who will be encouraged to take future executive actions on immigration reform to court even if Clinton beats Republican candidate nominee Donald Trump to the White House in November.