King Leads Anti-Immigrants

CONGRESSMAN Peter King, Republican of Long Island, has not only decided to be the poster boy for anti-immigrant nativists, but he is now apparently planning on introducing his own version of an immigration bill in the House to try to stop the current Senate one in its tracks.

King was a guest on the CBS show Face the Nation last weekend, and his rhetoric was as harsh as any southern know-nothing determined to keep foreigners out. He vowed to introduce his own bill in the house along with fellow nativist Republican Lamar Smith from Texas.

Precisely why King remains determined to undermine the comprehensive immigration bill remains a mystery. Like many on the far right he seems determined to mix up terrorism and immigration and somehow equate the two.

September 11, it seems, has utterly clouded his judgment to the point where he is spewing the type of vitriol against immigrants used by persecutors of the Irish in the distant past.

He must know perfectly well that is a huge red herring. After all, this is a man who dealt with many Irish undocumented in his time and was never slow to call on them when he needed help on his various campaigns. Amazing that he is now opposing another generation of Irish undocumented in such hostile fashion.

It is sad to see a man who has such a stellar reputation in the Irish community waste it all by becoming so hate-filled on this issue. Interesting that no Irish organization endorsed him last time for election. They are hardly likely to do so in the future either.

McCain a True Friend

CONTRAST King's behavior with that of Senator John McCain, who has boldly led on the comprehensive reform issue.

McCain made a terrific speech in Florida on Monday defending immigration reform and calling out some of his Republican opponents on the issue.

He particularly criticized former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, though not by name, who has been all over the lot on the immigration issue.

Romney previously supported the McCain/Kennedy legislation, but this year, in one of a number of flip-flops now that he's running for the GOP presidential nomination, has been playing the anti-immigrant card.

McCain, however, has taken him and the other anti-immigrant advocates in the Republican Party on and has shown the kind of political courage you will find noticeably lacking in almost every other presidential candidate on this issue.

Incidentally, Miami Police Chief John Timoney, a Dublin native, was among those who was highlighted by McCain his Florida speech as an example of what immigrants to America can achieve.

McCain's Wall Street Fundraiser

LATER this month, leading Irish on Wall Street are running a McCain for President fundraiser, in part because of his advocacy on immigration reform.

Denis Kelleher, chairman of Wall Street Access and a dedicated supporter of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, and John Duffy, CEO of Keefe Bruyette, a major Wall Street firm as well as Don Keough, chairman of Allen and Company will be among the main backers.

McCain has courted the Irish American vote, appearing at several Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform events. He has also appeared at Irish events including the recent Cooperation Ireland dinner in New York.

Last year McCain spoke at the Irish America magazine Wall Street 50 event, and he has close ties to the Irish community through senior officials Angela Hession, who hails from Mayo, and John Weaver, who is the senator's chief strategist.

The Forgotten Immigrant

MANY older readers may remember an NBC film in 1984 entitled Children in the Crossfire which was about a California Irish man who brought children out from Northern Ireland to help them survive the Troubles.

A rather sad story appeared in the Irish Independent newspaper this week about that same person, Vincent Lavery, who left Ireland at the age of 20 and returned to live there at the age of 71.

Lavery founded the "Children's Committee 10" in 1981, a charity which brought 1,200 Northern Irish children from opposing sides of the divide on holidays to the U.S. and which was subsequently expanded to include Lebanese children.

The initiative sparked the film Children in the Crossfire, in which Lavery was played by Niall Tobin, and subsequently Lavery became very well known.

Now back in Ireland, he finds himself homeless and helpless and out of a job. When he returned his teaching credentials were not recognized and he fell on hard times.

The newspaper reports his life in Ireland is now in stark contrast to the one he led in the U.S., where he was a Democratic Party activist, soccer coach and actor, in addition to being an accomplished teacher for 35 years in Fresno, California.

"I saw President McAleese on TV on one St. Patrick's Day saying people like me were welcome to come back and she went through the whole thing of how we left in the 1950s and '60s and now was the time for us to contribute our skills," says Lavery, who has not been able to find work in Ireland since he went back, however.

A sad tale all around.