“While most undocumented immigrants come from Mexico and other Latin American countries, they are also from many different nations. The number of undocumented immigrants from Ireland is unknown. There is no reliable figure, but some political observers say the number is about 40,000.”

Was this written in 2006? Actually, it was not. This was written in 1986 and carried in a report on the front page of The Irish Echo.

Even the estimate for the number of undocumented Irish matches the figure currently being promulgated by the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR).

The 1986 paragraph was included in a story on efforts in congress to pass an immigration reform bill that year.

The headline atop the report was not promising. It stated bluntly: “Immigration bill dead.”

Congress, however, was no less predictable 20 years ago than it is now. Two weeks later, the front-page headline had done an about turn: “Immigration bill passed” – it roared.

The reasons offered for the 1986 Immigration and Reform and Control Act rising, Lazarus-like, from a legislative grave were many and varied.

One congressional supporter of the bill blamed its initial failure to fly on fruit and vegetable growers who pressured House members to kill the measure – this on the grounds that they presumably preferred their labor to be cheap, undocumented and benefit-free.

Accusatory fingers were pointed at Washington, too.

Attorney General Ed Meese blamed House Democrats, who were in the majority at the time.

Meese wasn’t entirely wide of the mark in that one particular Democrat, Brian Donnelly, from Massachusetts, had led a guerilla attack on the bill because it did not contain specific relief for the Irish.

Once the future Donnelly visas were lumped on board, the subsequent vote saw passage of the reform bill.

There will be no Donnelly or Morrison visas in 2006.

And though the apparent similarities between 1986 and 2006, right down to the estimated 40,000 undocumented Irish, are indeed remarkable, there are also very stark differences in play.

Simply put, 1986 is not just a different time, it looks now almost like a vanished epoch, both in Ireland and the United States.

The Echo described the 1986 Act as a “delicately balanced” piece of legislation that included penalties for employers who hired undocumented workers and amnesty for millions of undocumented who had established new lives in the United States.

Another aspect of the 1986 Act is today abundantly clear: It was far from being a permanent or lasting solution to the problem of illegal immigration, by the Irish or anyone else.

At the same time, some would be forgiven for doing a Yogi Berra and taking the view that it’s deja vu all over again. The answer to that is yes, no and maybe.

Bruce Morrison was a member of the House of Representatives and in the thick of the 1986 debate.

Morrison is no longer a member of Congress, but he remains active in immigration matters. He was present at the inaugural meeting of Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform back in December 2005 and acts in an advisory capacity to the group.

As such, he is in a unique position to draw comparison between the two-standout years in the last two decades during which the issue of the undocumented Irish broke loudly into the public arena.

Morrison is no different from most in first pointing towards Ireland when drawing contrast between 2006 and 1986.

A booming economy, full employment and surge of immigrants into Ireland, would have sounded pie-in-the-sky in a year when the Irish economy continued to plod, along at a pace that failed to provide work for tens of thousands of “the best educated” Irish generation ever.

“People were being forced out of Ireland in 1986, but not today,” said Morrison.

But a lot of what Morrison refers to as “ILIR” people find themselves in a similar situation in 2006, though in a reverse sense.

“They’ve been here a long time and didn’t get Donnelly or Morrison visas. And the consequences of being undocumented are much worse because of the bans on returning should they travel to Ireland.”

Morrison points to a somewhat unusual contrast between the two years in terms of an Irish person’s initial move to the United States.

In 1986, he said, it was necessary to obtain a visa and go through an interview process. Once that visa was obtained, however, it was a lot easier to travel back and forth between both countries after the person overstayed and become undocumented.

Today, the initial journey is easier as a result of the visa waiver program for which Ireland is one of a limited number of qualifying countries.

“So it’s easier to come and stick around. But after that, and as a result of 9/11, there is a much more stringent scrutiny of the person’s coming and going. It’s much less haphazard now so we have the notion of people being locked down in the United States. This adds to the general distress, and is the reason that the Irish government has been hearing about it.”

Morrison has been scanning the various bills roaming around Capitol Hill.

“If there is, in the end, a comprehensive bill like 1986, it will take care of most of the Irish,” he said.

“Even with temporary visas, rather than green cards, they will be able to right themselves.”

Morrison believes that the arrival of Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) was timely, in contrast to the birth of its predecessor, the Irish Immigration Reform Movement.

“The IIRM came after the 1986 bill had been passed so ILIR is closer to the initiating of the reform process. The Irish missed the boat in 1986 but not this boat.”

According to Morrison, the effort to secure legal ways for the Irish to live in the United States in the future is not going to be easy.

It is clear that Morrison, while determined to help the Irish in 2006 just as he did in the 1980s, and 1990s, is not overly impressed by the way many Irish go about crossing the Atlantic and setting up shop in the United States.

“It’s a tall order getting the Irish to take advantage of legal avenues,” he said. “I meet many Irish here illegally who could be here legally. The Irish are not enamored with bureaucracy and jumping through hoops.”

Morrison is of the view that there are many ways in which young Irish people can use existing immigration programs to come and work in the United States. One form is a J1 training visa, designed to provide international training programs for one to 18 months, and can be extended.

“It’s a very flexible program, but it doesn’t seem to be used much by the Irish. I get eyes glazing over when I talk about such lawyer-based solutions. But a new ethic and practice of using the rules will be needed,” Morrison said. “Those coming from Ireland are no longer fleeing unemployment. They are seeking new opportunities. They should take more time for checking the boxes.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee is due to consider immigration reform again this week.

While the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, other reform advocacy groups and now a few editorial writers have been trumpeting the virtues of the McCain/Kennedy reform bill, Morrison counsels caution and says a closer eye should be trained on the bill placed before the committee by its chairman, Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA).

McCain/Kennedy, Morrison added, is not going to pass intact, or on its own.

“The Specter (chairman’s) mark is the one to watch,” he said. “This bill is the vehicle. What happens to it will tell us what is happening overall,” adding that it will come down to amendments offered by individual legislators such as Senators Kennedy (D-MA) and McCain (R-AZ).

“But right now the game in the Senate is the Specter bill and maybe (majority leader Bill) Frist bill,” Morrison said.