I won't condone illegal immigration, but I do have sympathy for those who now feel that they have to leave due to the tighter restrictions on illegal immigration. The Ireland that most of them left is gone and the costs, particularly housing, are astronomical for those who missed the boom.
Mr. Finn, the emigrant advice officer in Dublin, agreed. "They are not returning," he said of the Irish from America. "They're remigrating to a different country."I can't understand why Ireland and the US cannot agree on a certain number of visas that each country would make available to the citizens of the other. Rather than sending home those who would like to stay, the governments could facilitate a trade.
5,000 visas a year is a small number and I don't see why the US and Irish governments cannot make that many available annually. If 5,000 proves to be too many, then reduce the number and if it is too few increase it. As long as criminals and those who would be a charge on the state are screened out, I don't see what either country stands to lose.
UPDATE: Nov 11, 10:35am
A friend has reminded me of President Bush's "temporary worker" proposal for illegal immigrants already in the country. This plan outraged conservatives at the time, but it seems it will get the green light. Although the plan is targeted at the millions of illegal Mexicans in the US, it would presumably benefit some of the illegal Irish too. Maybe those who left for Ireland after last Tuesday's vote were too hasty?
