Immigration activists seeking to resolve the issue of the undocumented Irish in the US claimed today they had not received any assistance from Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on this or other related issues.
Speaking on RTÉ radio this afternoon, Ciaran Staunton, deputy chair of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform
(ILIR), said that in comparison to the Republican Senator John McCain, the organisation had been rebuffed by the Obama campaign.
Addressing the Irish-American Presidential Forum in Pennsylvania earlier this week, Mr McCain vowed to introduce comprehensive immigration reform that he said would give the estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish "a path to citizenship."
He also said pledged to continue to appoint a special envoy to Ireland if elected president.
"We've had great access to Senator McCain," Mr Staunton said today.
"Every event we’ve invited him to over the past two years, both in Washington and in the Bronx, he has shown up too...I spent half an hour talking with him about the (undocumented) issue and other Irish-American issues and he didn’t need notes or staff.
"He gets the issue. This is in contrast to his opponent. We have as yet been unable to get a hold of Barack Obama to turn up to any campaigns."
Mr Staunton said that Mr McCain had reiterated his interest in resolving the issue of the undocumented in a meeting with ILIR at which he said the number one priority during his first year would be to get immigration reform.
Commenting on Mr McCain's address earlier this week, Mr Staunton said that the Obama campaign had originally said it wouldn't reappoint an envoy on the North, and noted that in Pennsylvania, where both campaigns are tied, 20 per cent of the population claim Irish heritage.
"The Obama campaign originally said they wouldn't reappoint an envoy on the North and we've had great difficulty in reaching out and getting a response out of them and I think the McCain campaign has seen this," said Mr Staunton.
"We don't endorse candidates but we certainly thank them and as of now there's certainly only one who's shown an interest," he added..
In addition to praising Mr McCain for his action in relation to the undocumented Irish, Mr Staunton claimed that Taoiseach Brian Cowen was far more interested in resolving the issue than his predecessor, Bertie Ahern.
"The Irish Government under the current Taoiseach has come on in leaps and bounds on this issue, they aren’t just talking about it, they are working it. We’ve seen more work on this since the Taoiseach came to power than probably in the last number of years," said Mr Staunton.
