Outside Stew Leonard’s, off the Major Deegan Expressway in Yonkers, a young Irish couple from Monaghan is picking out a Christmas tree. “They say these are the best in America,” comments the young man, a painter. “They have nicer ones in Ireland,” whispers his girlfriend, who works as a nanny. The two, who have been living illegally in the Yonkers area for over five years, are decorating their house for Christmas. “I had a little girl during the year, she’s sick. Her doctors here are so good. We want to go home to Ireland to a place where we are not looking over our shoulders, but we can’t because of her. Also, if we go, we will get caught and we can’t risk that,” explains the girl.
Besides, except for the constant fear, the young man says things are going great for him in America. Last month his friend got stopped in Manhattan for making an illegal traffic turn. After days of being questioning, his friend was deported. “He owned a business and had to give it up. That kind of security [enforcement] frightens us. Although we would love to go home, we aren’t. My mother is coming out instead,” he said.
In many cases, for those who have heeded the advice that immigration officials and advocacy groups have given not to travel in this period of heightened security, it is the family from Ireland who is doing the traveling. “My mother and father and my brother and sister are coming out,” said Thomas, a 28 year-old electrician who would not reveal his last name. “I’ve been living in America undocumented for four years. I missed my brother’s wedding last summer. It was hard because my family did not understand why I couldn’t come home. Anyway, they decided it was easier if they came here than if I went home. There would be less rows,” he says. If Thomas’ family had stayed home, he would have spent the holidays at the pub with other Irish people who can’t go home.
Inside the country, however, entry and departure laws don’t apply.
“It’s horrible,” says Dyane, a 25-year-old office worker from Kerry. “Christmas is so sad stuck here without your family.” Dyane would love to go home. In fact if she had the opportunity, she would be gone in the morning. “But then I think I have so much going for me here. I have gotten used to the money and the lifestyle and I don’t think I’d like to go back to Tralee and live week to week, like I see my friends doing. I will go home eventually, but I wish I could just go home for a look. It’s heartbreaking.” At Easter, Dyane had her parents over. “When I brought them to the airport, I was inconsolable. It’s horrible being here. It’s horrible having to say goodbye to people you love and to spend family times alone.” So Dyane and three of her girlfriends are spending Christmas in Florida.
Travel agents like Dympna Tully, on McLean Avenue, agree that there may be some undocumented Irish taking this route [traveling domestically]. “In the last two years, we have done most of our business on sun-spot destinations like Florida. There may be a couple of reasons for that: security and price. Many people are finding Ireland expensive now. They get more value for their money traveling in the United States.” She added, “We’ve noticed a huge amount of travel from Ireland, which may also have to do with value for money, as well as spending time with families. Right now the airfare from Ireland is so cheap and the Euro so strong that their money is going further.” According to Tully, this Christmas a lot of young families, who would ordinarily travel to Ireland, are going to the Caribbean or Florida. The undocumented can’t go to the Caribbean but Florida is an option.
“I’m staying put this Christmas,” said Liam, 30, who has been in the United States over ten years. “I heard about two fells who were stopped in Shannon. They had two businesses in New York and they got banned. But, I saw them on the street the other day. That is living dangerously. I couldn’t do that. I’ll stay, keep my nose clean, and hope one day they will give me a visa.”
According to community advocates, if an undocumented person goes home and is caught and immigration officials determine he or she has overstayed the U.S. tourist visa, he or she will be banned from returning to America for up to 10 years. A person can become separated from family members and businesses in the United States.
“The feedback we have been getting is that due to security checks, undocumented Irish [in America] are cautious if not reluctant to travel back to Ireland,” said Brian Murphy of Aer Lingus. “However, the traffic for Christmas seems to be very strong to and from Ireland, particularly into Boston, Chicago and New York. This can be due to the strength of the Euro.”
Sharon Kelly, who lives in Maspeth, is going home this Christmas. She just got a green card. “My company sponsored me. This green card is my ticket home,” exclaimed Kelly. She hasn’t been home since September 11. “I used to travel all the time, but then it got too risky. When I got sponsored, I went home and got my green card. Now I can have a real Christmas,” she said.
“I heard that recently there was a citizenship ceremony somewhere in Westchester and that most of the Irish people present were using their new citizenship to go home,” said Siobhan Dennehy at the Emerald Isle. “We have noticed an upsurge in applications for emergency passports to leave America for good without triggering a ban,” she added. “I am glad the word has gotten out there. As we said last year, if you are undocumented, do not go home for Christmas. It was a risk last year and it is even more risky now. Now we notice that in Queens, more and more people are packing it in for good.”
