“We want to see a legal pathway for the future for Irish people,” Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny told Pres. Obama at a St. Patrick’s Day celebration this week.
After praising Obama’s executive actions, Kenny addressed the “undocumented Irish” problem, saying he wants Obama to take measures to “allow our undocumented to come out of the shadows.”
Kenny even went so far as to suggest that U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Kevin O’Malley has illegal alien family members:
“Let me thank you, in particular, Mr. President, for the work that you are doing to achieve immigration reform and, in particular, for the executive actions, which you announced last November. The undocumented Irish represent a small proportion of the 11 million people affected by this issue across the United States, but I can also tell you that almost every family in our country is related to or knows somebody who is caught up in this deeply distressing situation.”
“Any progress that would allow our undocumented to come out of the shadows and be free to travel home for family events would be very welcome and your very welcome ambassador, Kevin O’Malley, understands this deeply on his own personal family side.”
“We also want to see a legal pathway for the future for Irish people to make their full contribution here if they so choose. I can assure you this evening, Mr. President, that we will continue to add our voice to the many voices calling on this Congress to pass immigration reform legislation as soon as possible.”