What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander!

The U.S. immigration debate and the growing rift between Irish - Americans and Dublin

By Patrick Hurley

On June 28, 2006 the Irish Government, through its transparent lobbying surrogate, the Irish Legal Immigration Reform Movement (ILIR), once again descended on Washington, in an effort to promote the U.S. Senate’s emasculating immigration legislation. ILIR is an amalgamation of the unrepresentative, though disproportionately vocal, Irish Left and a handful of ideologically aberrant GOPers who persist in propagating Dubya’s disconnected, elitist "cheap labor" gospel. There is, after all, a reason why the President is ranking so abysmally in the opinion polls, even among Republicans and Conservatives.

Ultimately, however, ILIR is a creature of the Irish Government. When ILIR agitates, it is the government, or, more specifically, the mandarins of Iveagh House - Ireland's Foggy Bottom - talking. When ILIR acts in concert with extreme left - wing, anti - American groups like La Raza and ANSWER, it is strategizing with the full knowledge and blessing of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. Far from being a spontaneous manifestation of post Sept 11 Irish - America, ILIR first saw the light of day thanks to a healthy infusion of Irish punts, er, sorry, Euros courtesy of Iveagh House. Since its inception, it has received the repeated endorsements of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern, other members of the Oireachtas, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams, and members of the SDLP.

Indeed, Dermot Ahern recently saw fit to reward ILIR with a nice financial “atta boy”, in the form of another significant injection of lolly, just after that entity had attempted to embarrass the powerful chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, and long time staunch advocate of the Irish - American political agenda, Peter King. In a classic case of “How not to Legalize the Irish”, ILIR, through its juvenile, egotistical antics, has succeeded in alienating several powerful GOP representatives like King, House Majority Whip Congressman Roy Blunt, and Congressman Tom Tancredo, chairman of the 100 member House Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, among others. Tancredo has become so offended by ILIR that in March he publicly rebuked the Irish Government, its surrogate ILIR, and the Dail for their interference in the domestic affairs of the United States; an unprecedented criticism in the relationship between the Southern Irish state and the United States. There's one for the history books! These, of course, are representatives who have a natural empathy for the Irish predicament and who would have been disposed towards helping us.

To exacerbate an already serious situation, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny wants to implement a “Tallaght Strategy”, in order to enhance ILIRs destructive campaign. Thanks to Kenny an all -party delegation of TDs and senators flew to Washington to join ILIR, on June 28. Such a move only engendered further ire, hostility and resentment.

Let’s clarify what the Irish Government, through its surrogate ILIR, wants the Irish - American community to support, and the U.S. Congress to enact. Dublin wants us to legalize 12 million illegal aliens, i.e. 3.5% of the current U.S. population, in an effort to regularize the status of, at most, 10,000 undocumented Irish, and that’s an over generous figure. Unlike the microscopic number of Irish, the vast majority of that 12 million, mainly Mexican, are uneducated, unskilled and speak no English. Once legalized they will become net beneficiaries of our generous welfare system. They will contribute little if anything in the way of taxes. The U.S. Senate has already recognized this reality by ensuring that amnesty recipients will qualify for the earned income tax credit.

Based on the experience of the last 30 years, and, indeed, on the experience of recent illegal immigration rallies, this influx would prove difficult, probably unwilling, to assimilate. They will ghettoize and balkanize, further weakening the bonds of U.S. nationhood. The Star-Spangled Banner in Spanish, I think not! But that’s not the worst!

Scholars from the authoritative Washington Think Tank, the Heritage Center estimate that because of our overly generous family preference admissions system, this initial 12 million will have metamorphosed into 60 million, within 25 years. That is, in 25 years, almost one quarter of the U.S. population will be foreign - born, mainly Mexican, non - English speaking, uneducated, unassimilated beneficiaries of our welfare system. There is, of course, no free lunch in life. Somebody has to pay the piper. This great social upheaval will be bankrolled by crippling taxes on the U.S. middle class, until, that is, the middle class has been taxed out of existence. Hundreds of thousands of solid blue collar union jobs - ironically the kind of jobs that propelled the Irish and other immigrant groups into the middle class – will be obliterated in a Tsunami of cheap labor. The United States will become an emasculated, balkanized, Third World economic basket case. Ironically, just like Mexico, with a rich elite at the pinnacle, an insignificant middle class, and a large impoverished underclass. One can count several of our European "allies" that would relish that scenario: Une, deux, trois . . . Ein, zwei, drei . . .

For the sake of elucidation, let’s frame this scenario in an Irish context. Imagine, if you will, a minister announcing to the Dail that the government has decided it is in the national interest to immediately grant residency permits to 125,000 immigrants – 3.5% of the current Irish population. However, this number will mushroom to 750,000 foreign-born residents within 25 years, i.e., almost a quarter of the population. The influx will be mostly uneducated and unskilled. The new arrivals will not speak English, let alone focal gaeilge ar bith. They will ghettoize and balkanize the country, averse to assimilation as they will be. If nationalists and unionists had a problem co - existing, even though they are 99% culturally similar, then, you have seen nothing yet! This influx will provide a gigantic pool of cheap labor for corporate Ireland. In doing so, it will obliterate the standard of living of native blue collar workers. Because they will earn so little - cheap labor after all! - the new arrivals will pay little, if anything, in taxes. However, they and their families will still have to be fed, clothed, housed and educated. Luckily, however, they will be eligible for a whole host of welfare benefits. However, somebody will have to bankroll this major expansion of the Irish welfare state, so taxes will have to increase dramatically, primarily, of course, on the already tax - oppressed middle class, who can’t normally avail of expensive, creative accountants. Because taxation will become so punitive to support this largesse, the standard of living of the middle class will decline drastically in a short period of time. Amhran na Bhfiann san teanga gallda!!!!

Such a proposal would quite correctly be greeted with outrage by the Irish electorate. It would be political suicide. The electoral fortunes of the politicians who conceived of such a ridiculous proposal would rightly be very bleak. Yet, this is exactly what the Irish political establishment wants Irish - Americans to support and the U.S. Congress to enact. When Irish Americans, like the vast majority of the U.S. electorate, resist such destructive legislation, we are branded as unsophisticates, bigots and racists by the Left, and by the elites - Republican and Democrat alike - the potential beneficiaries of any Tsunami of cheap labor. Somebody has to mow those country club fairways. Why pay a young American college student a decent wage, when Jose from Mexico will do so for a pittance???

Of course, Irish - Americans want to legalize the current crop of undocumented Irish. More importantly we want to implement a permanent solution to the Irish immigration problem by establishing an annual, realistic visa quota. As many GOP/Conservative and, indeed, Blue Dog representatives will vouch, there are more commonsensical, nuanced and creative ways of resolving this challenge than cheering on destructive Senate legislation, which is anathema to our cultural, economic and security interests. Die-hard opponents of the Senate legislation like Pete King, Roy Blunt, John Sweeney, indeed most of the GOP caucus, would have no objection in principle with "Legalizing the Irish". English speaking, well - educated, skilled, easily assimilable, the Irish are in Congressman Blunt's words "just the kind of immigrants we need". However, these opportunities decrease proportionately every time extremist ILIR opens its mouth to promote the Senate's "Dissolve America Act", and to ridicule its congressional opponents, our natural allies.

Even though poll after poll shows a consistent opposition of more than 80% among the U.S. electorate, and by extrapolation among the Irish American community, why does the Irish political establishment persist in advocating the emasculating Senate legislation, the "McKennedy National Suicide Bill"??? One interpretation is that it is self - constrained by a Brussels effected political correctness. It may also be a victim of the failure to cultivate a broader U.S. political spectrum, resulting in its exclusive exposure to the polarized partisan advice of the Irish Left. Well, those are the the kindly interpretations. A less kindly one is that, in the era of an evolving "Common European Foreign Policy", Iveagh House is pursuing a European agenda at the behest of our Franco - German "allies", who must savor the thought of Uncle Sam laid low.

Here's a proposal that will allow the Irish political establishment to prove its bonafides and inspire us morally - deficient, racist and bigoted Irish - Americans. Let the mandarins of Iveagh House take full page adverts, in all the Spanish language publications across the United States, exhorting illegals to come one, come all, to the nearest Irish Consulate where they will receive a residency permit to dwell in the economically booming Celtic Tiger. Arrangements will even be made with Aer Lingus to fly them there, at taxpayer expense. No background checks, no awkward questions and absolutely no pressure to assimilate! Once the Celtic Tiger has reached its intake of 3.5 % of its population - or 125,000 - then, perhaps, we morally inferior, unsophisticated Irish - Americans will be shamed into action. After all, what's good for the goose is good for the gander! We won't hold our collective breath!

Ultimately, how will Irish - Americans perceive an Irish political establishment that so zealously inserts itself into U.S. domestic affairs, to promote legislation that would destroy our livelihoods and seriously destabilize the United States??? Considering that it has so flippantly surrendered Irish sovereignty to a Franco- German alliance, masquerading as a "European Union", the Irish establishment's disregard for the integrity of U.S. sovereignty should not be surprising. To quote Michael Collins, "there's more than a stretch of water between them and us" and, unfortunately, the chasm between Irish - America and the Irish establishment is growing ever wider. Perhaps, we should anticipate an Irish - American version of the Boston Tea Party. This time it won't be the product of the East India Company going over the side, but the Lyons' and the Barry's.

Patrick Hurley is President of the Regular Republican Club, 30th AD, Inc. in Woodside, Queens, New York City. He is a member of the Queens County executive of the Republican Party. In 2003, he was the GOP/Conservative candidate for the NYC Council in the 26th CD. He is currently president of the County Cork Association of New York, one of the largest Irish American organizations in the Tri State area. In 1987, he was a co -founder of the Irish Immigration Reform Movement, a grassroots lobbying organization that went onto secure thousands of green cards for the then burgeoning illegal Irish community.

This column was originally published in August of 2006