This month marks a seminal event in the history of the Irish in America.
Shortly after 12.01 on October 14 at a post office box in Washington, D.C., the first lrish applications for the new Morrison visas will be received and a 25-year nightmare will end.
Back in 1965 when the last immigration reform act was passed, the Irish, like people from other Western European countries, were squeezed out when a quota system was introduced. While the 1965 legislation was a genuine attempt to counteract the excessively pro-European immigration of a previous era, its ultimate impact was to tip the scales far too much against almost any emigration from Western Europe.
Thus, after enjoying almost unfettered access to the United States since its foundation, the Irish suddenly found themselves on the outside looking in. None of which mattered all that much until the carly 1980’s when what the Wall Street Journal recently referred to as “Ireland’s permanent recession” started settling in.
Suddenly the traditional safety valve of immigration to America was cut off and a new generation of Irish immigrants found Lady Liberty’s golden torch more of a signal to “keep out” than a beacon of hope for their futures.
Tens of thousands of them came any-way, settling in the traditional Irish neighborhoods of Woodside in New York or Dorchester in Boston. The great difference, of course, between this and previous generations of arrivals was that almost all were illegal.
It was an easy existence for a while, when the American economic climate was good and there was lots of work in traditional Irish employment areas such as construction and child care. But when the economy turned, as it has in recent years, illegals were forced to recognize the precariousness of their position.
For many too, the heady days of their early twenties had given way to more sobering years, when thoughts of marriage, building a life within the new system and shaping dreams for their futures were becoming important. Adding to their sense of alienation was the worsening economic situation in Ireland, and the increasing difficulty of finding work there.
In the mid eighties, the groundswell for immigration reform began, though at first it had no more effect than a wave hitting a desert shore. This magazine, I am proud to say, published the first articles calling for immigration reform-and we were not thanked for it. “You are alerting the immigration authorities to the problem,” was one of the classically Irish “hide it and it will go away” responses.
A dynamic new organization, the Irish Immigration Reform Movement, was one of the major catalysts for change as were certain community leaders, media figures and, most importantly, the Irish government and Irish American legislators.
Before the Morrison visas there were the Donnelly visas, called after the Massachusetts congressman, Brian Donnelly.
The Donnelly visas took care of many of the undocumented. The new Morrison visas, called after former Connecticut Congressman Bruce Morrison who sponsored the legislation, guarantees the Irish a minimum of 48,000 green cards over the next three years.
Let’s make one thing clear; these new visas do not come at the expense of any other country. People who have tried to paint the recent Morrison legislation as Irish-versus-the-rest, miss the point that the Black and Hispanic and Asian caucuses all voted for its passage and all will benefit from it.
Beyond Morrison, 1994 will see the introduction of the Schumer Diversity Program, named after the Brooklyn congressman. This will likely mean the resumption of long-term emigration from Ireland.
It is fitting, perhaps, that we at Irish America celebrate this victory in the month we publish our annual list of the Business 100, all of whom had relatives-however distant who left Ireland to sail through the golden door. May we all live to see the sons and daughters of the Morrison, Donnelly and Schumer visa recipients some day make a similar list of Irish American achievers.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the October 1991 issue of Irish America. ♦
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