Jimmy Ryan, 69, a parent of an undocumented Irish immigrant who has been living in New York for the past three years, spoke to the Irish Voice about not having his son with his family for Christmas in Ireland, and his dismay at the slow pace of change in Washington, D.C. to reform the nation’s immigration laws.

Ryan, who immigrated to London in the 1970s when employment was modest in his hometown of Limerick and came back home 20 years later says, “My son enjoys working in America; it’s just hard that he can’t do it in a legal way.”

Ryan recently returned from visiting his son in New York. He says he is upset that his 27-year-old son can’t be with the family for the Christmas period.

“It’s very strenuous on both myself and his mother that we have to fly over to New York to see our son. If only he could come home once a year we would be happy,” he said.

Ryan and his wife, Olive, are both a little anxious about flying, but they are left with no other alternative. “If we don’t go, we don’t get to see him, it’s as simple as that. We aren’t the only parents who aren’t keen on the journey,” he said.

Ryan says flying isn’t the only obstacle preventing parents from coming to the United States.

“If you don’t have the money you can’t just get up and fly to America when you feel like it,” says Ryan. “I know many parents who are at their wits end because the entire family hasn’t been together for Christmas in about five or six years – something seriously has to be done about the issue!” Ryan claimed.

“If our children decided to come home to spend Christmas with their families, the U.S. government would only treat them like terrorists upon return, and the thing about it is they are honest to God, good working people.”

Ryan goes on to say Christmas Day is very difficult when all the family members are sitting down to dinner and there is an empty chair. “We reared him here and now that he can’t be with us at the table Christmas Day it’s heartbreaking for all his family, especially on his mother,” he said.

Ryan maintains that the average parent who has an undocumented son or daughter in the United States is unhappy with the lack of progress at Irish government level in looking after his or her own abroad.

When Ryan arrived back to Ireland after his recent visit with his son, he saw on the news that Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern was proposing a bilateral agreement between Ireland and the United States that would result in Irish citizens getting a set number of visas annually.

Ryan is pleased with the news, but he sincerely hopes Ahern won’t forget the undocumented Irish immigrants in the United States.

“Our government is very good at looking after the Europeans who are coming to Ireland, but it’s time for them to look after their own in the United States. They better remember them when they are putting this agreement together,” said Ryan.

He alleges that the next general election in Ireland will see quite a lot of families and friends of undocumented in the United States, voting according to the actions the Irish government will take in dealing with “their own illegal in America,” he said.

“There are a lot of Irish parents distressed at the inactivity of the Irish government up until now, including myself. As a parent of an illegal, I’ll be looking very closely on their actions on this issue and it will definitely have an effect on my vote on polling day,” he said. “It’s not just parents and friends that their actions will effect, but cousins, uncles and aunts and their friends too, so the government better get it right for us now,” he said.

“Minister Ahern did say he is confidant that something will be done shortly, but I won’t believe it until I see my son standing at our front door step,” Ryan said.

Ryan promises he will be keeping a close eye on how the Irish government will deal with the situation, and his fervent hope is that by next Christmas his whole family will be reunited at the dinner table.

“That’s all any Irish parent wants is for his whole family to be together on Christmas. Hopefully Dermot Ahern will work hard for us on this issue,” he said.