FRANK SHARRY:Irish-American advocate for immigration reform
How many undocumented illegal immigrants are there in the US?There are about 12 million: 80 per cent of them Mexican or Latin American, the rest a mixture of everything from Filipino to Italian to Indian. The total number of Irish is relatively small, probably around 50,000 - although we have no idea of the exact number. Most would have entered the country on tourist visas and then overstayed. They work in things like carpentry, construction and hospitality. Certainly, every time I'm in New York, it seems my waiter or bartender speaks with an Irish accent.
Does it hurt their case that the Irish have come from a prosperous country where jobs are still easy enough to come by?I don't distinguish between the hard life of an undocumented Irish worker or an undocumented Mexican. The fact is that they're working hard and sinking roots with the threat constantly hanging over them that, at any moment, everything could be destroyed by a simple traffic stop or a disaffected co-worker. It's not an easy life. The United States has essentially been inviting these people in for decades. They should be allowed to get on the right side of the law. Unfortunately, you have a vocal and visible minority of hardline anti-immigrant activists blocking sensible reform.
Is immigration an issue in the current US presidential campaign?Neither candidate is talking about it on the stump. But there is a fierce Spanish language ad war going on. Four key battleground states that have large Hispanic populations: Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida. So it may well be that the way the Hispanic vote swings within those states ends up deciding the election. To be fair, John McCain has a heroic record on immigration. But he's is trailing badly to Obama among Hispanic voters. Why? Because the Republican Party is seen as the anti-immigrant party and unfortunately McCain was forced to pander to the right wing during primary season.
Moving on, what are you doing in Ireland at the moment?I've been hired by the Forum on Migration and Communications to liaise with NGOs working with migrants and asylum seekers here. As in most countries, the treatment of asylum seekers here has been pretty horrific. The idea of a Nigerian priest getting strip-searched at Dublin airport is just appalling. But so far, I've been very impressed with the level of public support for migration here. We're preparing now for an increasingly difficult debate in the months ahead.
One TD recently proposed that jobless immigrants should be paid €1,000 to leave the country. Is that a feasible plan in your opinion?I'm not surprised at all that you're seeing some of the harsher rhetoric creeping in from some of the politicians. As the economy begins to feel the effects of the downturn, I suspect you'll see a lot more politicians making Neanderthal comments. Compared to other European countries though, where you've seen the rise of far-right anti-immigrant parties, Ireland has been pretty mature so far. But we'll see what happens.
What are the potential problems that you see ahead and are there any measures that can be taken to avoid them?The first thing to understand is that most migrants come to Ireland to work. If there are fewer jobs, people will start to go home.
It's also important to maintain a rational debate and not to allow hotheads and demagogues make this a wedge issue. The politicians are clearly testing the waters. They want to see if taking an anti-immigrant line is going to have the sort of electoral punch that might win an election. I suspect it won't, because the Irish people have an experience of migration. They understand it. As long as there's a sense that the Government is keeping some control and that migrants are coming to work and contribute, I'm cautiously optimistic.
