[caption id="attachment_69125" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="The ILIR's Ciaran Staunton addressing the crowd at Finnegans Wake."]
In what is likely to be the first of a number of such meetings in the coming weeks, representatives of a number of Irish organizations gathered in Philadelphia on Monday night to discuss the latest developments in the battle for greater legal access for Irish immigrants and the prospects for current proposals in Washington to craft an E-3 visa deal for the Irish.
The meeting, at Finnegans Wake in downtown, discussed two bills currently presented by Senator Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat, and Senator Scott Brown, the Massachusetts Republican.
Ciaran Staunon of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform urged support for the Schumer measure, S1983, on the grounds that it had 53 co-sponsors in the Senate and contained a waiver provision for the undocumented Irish. It would allow for 10,500 E-3 visas for Ireland on an annual basis.
"We need only seven more co-sponsors to reverse the 1965 Immigration bill that stopped legal Irish immigration to the USA," said Staunton.
