Friday, March 17, 2006

Gaelic Gaul

Irish Prime Minister Ahern met with president Bush today, and used the occasion to push the US to give amnesty to our Irish illegal immigrants. I can't believe he could do this with a straight face.

In the 1990's Ireland's economy began to boom. The land of perpetual emigration began to experience immigration for the first time. How did they react?

Well in Jan. 2003 the Irish Supreme Court said that non-citizen parents of children born in Ireland were not entitled to permanent residence. In June 2004 Irish voters passed a referendum that stated that children born in Ireland to non-citizens were not entitled to automatic citizenship. (I can only wish we could accomplish that here)

And there is this: "In recent years, Ireland has passed a number of laws aimed at combating illegal immigration. Together, these laws provide a legal basis for deporting non-nationals in violation of Ireland's immigration laws, ban the trafficking of illegal immigrants and the carrying of a passenger who does not have proper immigration documents, and financially penalize or imprison employers and workers who do not comply with the Employment Permits Act 2003. In addition, illegal residents' access to some state benefits has been restricted." (link)

And this: "In a new crackdown on illegal immigration, more than 200 police officers raided homes in Dublin and arrested 39 people. The searches are to be extended nationwide in an effort to find and deport the 2,610 people who have not left the country since their applications for asylum were rejected. Some 310 people have been deported since January; about 10,000 people, mostly from Africa and Eastern Europe, request asylum in Ireland each year." (link) (Again, I can only wish)

PM Ahern, you are a hypocrite.

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