AOH Leader Pleads for Irish Priest

IRISH-AMERICAN LEADER PLEADS TO PRESIDENT BUSH
FOR COLUMBAN PRIEST

Quincy, MA & Albany, NY June 17, 2008 - The National President of the nation’s oldest and largest Irish Catholic organization has urged President Bush to remove any threat of deportation of Fr. Cathal Gallagher, a Columban Missionary who has served St Thomas parish in De Smet, South Dakota for 10 years and is seeking Permanent Resident status.
President Jack Meehan stated: “We are not unmindful of the enormous tasks faced by Homeland Security but surely there is no need whatsoever to deport this good man merely because his religious worker visa has expired.”

President Meehan noted the A.O.H’s long support of the Columban Missionary Society and asked President Bush and Michael Chertoff, Secretary for Homeland Security to remove any threat of deportation while the priest's paperwork ---now in its seventh year of processing---is being considered.

“We join the voices of 80,000 Hibernians,” concluded the Irish-
American leader, “with those of Senators Thune and Johnson and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network to grant Fr Gallagher’s petition for Permanent Resident status.”

For more info contact Jack Meehan at 617-285-5113 or Mike Cummings at 518-482-0349

Letter to President Bush


June 16, 2008
Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D. C. 20500

Dear President Bush:

As the leader of the nation’s oldest and largest Irish Catholic organization, I write to you as a matter of urgency regarding the case of Fr. Cathal Gallagher, a member of the Missionary Society of St. Columban.

Fr. Gallagher’s religious worker visa recently expired while in his seventh year of waiting for action on his request for Permanent Resident status. He will be subject to deportation effective July 1 unless his status can be addressed. We urge that any threat of deportation be removed and that Fr. Gallagher’s request for Permanent Resident be granted.

We appreciate that the 9-11 attack has caused considerable upheaval and change in immigration services, not the least of which was the creation of a Homeland Security Department, which has been processing Fr. Gallagher’s request. We also recognize that the illegal/undocumented status of a great many people in the United States is a serious problem with no simple solution and many heartbreaking stories of divided families and life under cover. However, even under those circumstances, we believe that Fr Gallagher’s missionary work overseas and 10 years of service to parishioners in rural South Dakota deserves special consideration and clemency. He has done everything requested of him in terms of documentation and paperwork but the bureaucracy is either too burdened with paperwork or has great difficulty in distinguishing problematic cases with those whose only ‘problem’ has been the ravages of time.

The AOH, whose long association with the Columban Missionary Society extends over a century, wishes to add the voice of its 80,000 members to the pleas of Senators Thune and Johnson of South Dakota and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network for a prompt and favorable decision on Fr. Gallagher’s behalf. We especially will join in prayer with the members of St Thomas in De Smet, South Dakota in the hope that this good man will not suffer deportation.

I would appreciate the favor of an early reply. If there is anything further we might do to help Fr. Gallagher legally remain in the United States, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,

John J. Meehan Jr.
National President
60 Longwood Road
Quincy, Mass. 02169-3925
617-285-5113

Michael J. Cummings

12 Marion Avenue Albany

New York 12203-1814

518-482-0349(h) 518-447-4802(o)