| If I were not out of state (from Mass) I would love to help.
But if this gets to popular, Ireland will look like one of your
western ghost towns, Well, I'll go home, that's one. any more takers?
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| There's an article in today's Boston Globe about the easing of the
amnesty law as it applies to Irish, Canadian, and Western European
immigrants who have come to the U.S. after the amnesty cutoff date
of January 1st, 1982. The following is an abstract from the article.
"several people [were] granted work permits yesterday by the US
Immigration and Naturalization Service under a liberalized
interpretation of the 1986 INS reform law.
The amnesty provision, which applies to those who have lived here
continuosly since before Jan. 1, 1982, had been faulted as a 'Catch-22'
that disqualified those who had left the United States for brief
visits to their home countries. The new interpretation forgives
most such visits.
[Senator Edward M.] Kennedy ... urged illegal aliens to ask about
their status since they may qualify for legal residency under the
amnesty program which expires in May.
... Cardinal Bernard Law called the [earlier] program a failure and
urged that the deadline be extended for at least six months.
... There are an estimated 10,000 to 25,000 illegal Irish immigrants
living in Boston ... according to those who work with immigrant
groups.
However, most arrived after the amnesty cutoff date of Jan. 1, 1982.
A bill currently before Congress, proposed by Kennedy and Rep. Brian
J. Donnelly (Democrat-Mass.) would provide an extra 50,000 visas,
weighted in such a way as to allow most to go to Irish, Canadian,
and Western European immigrants to reverse the effects of a 1965
immigration act that leaned toward Third World countries.
Kennedy said yesterday that he hopes to see the bill become law
before the end of next year. This act would provide relief to many
who arrived after the cutoff date."
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