Fianna Fáil Deputy and Co-Chair of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly Brendan Smith has called on the Government to increase its engagement with the new Biden Administration in the US to ensure further protections for the Undocumented in the United States.  

Speaking this week, US congressman Brendan Boyle, who has family roots in Donegal, said that Irish immigration was in decline there and that the US Government needed to restore a legal framework whereby Irish emigrants can enter the US successfully.  

Deputy Brendan Smith commented, “I welcome Brendan Boyle’s continued support and I have asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will have discussions at an early date with the United States administration in relation to the need for immigration reform with particular reference to the undocumented Irish following the referral by President Biden of the US Citizenship Act to Congress.”  

Deputy Smith: “I welcome Minister Coveney’s commitment to continue to pursue the E3 Visa Bill option which, if passed, could provide access to thousands of US visas each year to Irish citizens. 

“Urgency must be attached to this important issue with the new Administration and new Congress in place. 

“The links between Ireland and the US have always been strong and our diaspora play a key role in maintaining relationships.  It is vitally important that these connections are supported into the future.”