During her address a few weeks to the annual Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, party president Mary Lou McDonald lamented what she saw as an exodus from the island by young people.
McDonald pointed to two countries as the beneficiaries of this new chapter in the ages-old Irish emigration story. They were Canada and Australia.
McDonald did not mention the United States.
This is not a surprise because in recent years Canada and Australia have presented relatively open doors to young Irish people with dreams of making a mark in life and of doing so in another land before returning to Ireland; or perhaps not returning.
This was once a common theme for those leaving the island for America. This theme is currently gathering dust on history's shelf.
That said, some Irish still manage to make the Atlantic crossing, albeit in very specific contexts. The crossing might be a transfer within a business. It might be, or might have been, in the context of an H category visa. It might be in the context of love and marriage.
The idea of simply applying to legally live and work in America outside of such specific contexts is today a non- starter.
But for those who do manage to gain legal entry to America the next stage is typically a bid to secure a Green Card, the document that permits above board work, and travel from and back into the United States.
More often than not the process for securing a Green Card is undertaken in the United States itself.
That process was cast into doubt in recent days with the Trump administration announcing that many Green Card/permanent residency applicants would have to leave the U.S. and continue the application process in their native lands.
As CBS News reported: "The memo appeared to dramatically limit a process known as 'adjustment of status,' which permits immigrants being sponsored for a green card by American employers or relatives to stay in the U.S. while they wait for one. At the time, a USCIS spokesperson said someone 'who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances'"
Added the report: "The announcement alarmed immigrants, business groups and immigration lawyers, who feared the move would force hundreds of thousands to leave the U.S. and strand some of them overseas due to broad travel and entry restrictions the Trump administration has imposed on dozens of countries."
Evidently, the alarm registered because last weekend, according to the CBS account, the Department of Homeland issued a statement that portrayed the new Green Card guidance in far less sweeping ways, arguing that the memo issued last week restated "longstanding law and policy."
Stated the department to CBS: "Policy will not prevent any alien from obtaining a green card who legitimately and properly qualify."
The department said the guidance "will result in some aliens who do not merit the discretionary benefit ultimately applying with the Department of State overseas rather than USCIS in the United States.
"This policy will have no noticeable impact on highly qualified applicants and skilled professionals who have followed the law. These aliens benefit the national interest and provide economic benefits to the United States and will continue to merit the favorable exercise of discretion."
The DHS language would seem to indicate that while all "aliens" might be equal in terms of their basic existence some, to borrow from George Orwell, are more equal than others.
Some "aliens" then - those that will have to pack their backs and head back to their native lands are, presumably, those that don't make the grade of "highly qualified" or "skilled professionals."
So much for the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
