TEN members of the US Congress stood up in the House of Representatives yesterday to oppose the threatened deportation of seven men from Northern Ireland convicted of what they call political offences. Appeals were made to President Clinton to intervene if necessary to stop the breakup of the families concerned.
Although the men have served their sentences and are no longer wanted by the RUC, they are liable to deportation under the new stricter US antiterrorist laws. The men have been living openly for up to 20 years in the US and have in most cases married American women.
The action in Congress yesterday was prompted by the recent decision of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) to appeal against a court decision in favour of Mr Brian Pearson granting him political asylum.
The court decision was hailed as a triumph by the Irish American groups campaigning for the "political deportees" and appeals were made to President Clinton and the Attorney General, Ms Janet Reno, to ensure that the INS would not try and reverse the decision.
The decision by the INS to appeal the Pearson judgment is seen therefore as a serious setback to the highpowered campaign to prevent the deportations. There is anger at what is seen as President Clinton reneging on a pledge he gave before his first election that there would be "no more Joe Dohertys", a reference to the extradition of a former republican under the Bush administration.
The 10 members of Congress, who came from both the Democratic and Republican sides of the House, appealed to the Clinton administration to drop the deportation proceedings against the seven men. It was pointed out that they had long settled in the US as married and law abiding citizens.
A number of the speakers said that the men faced threats to their lives if they were deported as they would be "marked men" in Northern Ireland. It was also pointed out that they had been convicted in non jury Diplock courts.