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Éan chair visits Washington
By admin | March 8, 2007
Fr Alan Hilliard, Director of the Irish Episcopal Commission for Emigrants (IECE) and the chair of Éan’s board, attended yesterday’s rally in Washington DC. The rally brought Irish immigrants living in the US together to lobby politicians for comprehensive immigration reform.
“Today’s rally is an example of people taking responsibility for their own futures, and while this has not been easy, it is both necessary and commendable”, he said.
He spoke of plans for information provision that would be necessary in the future:
“One flaw of the immigration reform of the 1980s was a lack of clear communication of rights and this was coupled with the propagation of misinformation. Partly – perhaps due to living on the fringes of society – many were uncertain, nervous and were consequently afraid to come forward. Many immigrants did not fully understand what was available to them. However, on this occasion we will provide information to those in need so that they can make informed decisions. What must be avoided are ‘enticements’ and other so called ‘quick-fix’ solutions which will be advertised by some unscrupulous people whose motive is profit and whose style is to prey on the vulnerable. We are presently upgrading our Irish Apostolate website to enable browsers to access the legislative changes, if and when they happen, as they become available online.””Yesterday, members of our Apostolate met with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network to discuss the implementation of whatever legislation is put in place. Despite the uncertainty, we have to live with the expectation that legislative change will happen and, please God, a pathway of hope will open up.”
See more of Fr Hilliard’s comments on the Independent Catholic News website.
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