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05.01.08 DV Lottery - CIIC Warning to Immigrants to beware of scams
11.19.07 CIIC’s response to article about Irish undocumented
11.06 Irish Immigration Coalition Keeps Growing
02.02.06 Minister Brennan Launches Returning to Ireland Information Guide
11.06
Irish Immigration Coalition Keeps Growing
By Bartholomew Murphy
THE Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers is a very useful ally to the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform in the current movement for immigration reform for the tens of thousands of undocumented Irish in the U.S. The CIIC or coalition, as it is commonly called, is a U.S.-based federation whose members are made up of the approximately 15 active Irish immigrant and pastoral social service centers throughout the U.S., including centers in California, Washington, Illinois, Washington D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Wisconsin.
Originally established in 1996 as a loose, ad hoc group dealing with then available U.S. citizenship opportunities for Irish immigrants, it formalized itself into a 501(c) (3) non-profit corporation over a bitterly cold and windy weekend in New York in early 2003 under the energetic guidance and perseverance of Rev. Colm Campbell, then head of the U.S. Irish Apostolate. The CIIC owes much of its new direction and energy to recent challenges both here and in Ireland resulting from the 9/11 tragedies and changes to U.S. immigration laws that unfortunately followed.
Moreover, it is a direct beneficiary of the increasing acknowledgement by Celtic Tiger Ireland of the ancestral debt owed to the largely involuntary Irish Diaspora of the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s to Britain and the U.S. and to its increased sense of responsibility for the welfare and well being of more recent and vulnerable Irish emigrants. Much of this vigor and commitment can be traced to the Irish government’s formation of the task force on policy regarding emigrants in late 2001.
The task force was charged with the responsibility of reviewing the past and current lie-of-the-land in relation to Irish emigrants and making recommendations for reform. Comprised of leaders in social service and emigrant agencies in Ireland, Britain and abroad, it held hearings and received submissions on proposals for reform in this area. The task force published its report and presented it to the then Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, in August 2002.
The task force report ultimately suggested recommendations that resulted in a sea change on how the Irish government might address itself to these important issues. And to its credit, Ireland has started to implement many of these recommendations. To date, these have included substantial increased funding of overseas Irish immigrant service organizations and the creation of a dedicated “Irish Abroad Unit” within the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin, a “one stop shop” as it were, for the direction of government policy and support in these important areas of its responsibility.
The CIIC’s primary functions are to provide a national forum for the sharing of best practices among its member organizations throughout the U.S., to educate its members on current laws and proposed changes as they relate to Irish immigrants and, to the extent possible, advocate on behalf of its members, productive changes to policies and laws that affect Irish immigrants to the U.S. The coalition is guided by a nine-member board of directors drawn nationally from its constituent centers. The board meets monthly by teleconference and in person at least semi-annually. Through additional funding from the Irish government, in late 2005, the coalition was fortunate to hire Sheila Gleeson, formerly of the Irish Immigration Center in Boston, as its first administrative director. Sheila is an enormously experienced veteran of Irish immigrant issues in the U.S. and brings great commitment and energy to the coalition.
Additionally, it is currently revamping its website which promises to be a comprehensive source of relevant information and resources to its members and the Irish community at large on issues of Irish immigration and social services. In addition to its board and membership meetings and monthly newsletters, the CIIC hosts an annual meeting bringing together the best minds and best practices in the areas of Irish immigration, delivery of social and pastoral services, counseling and law reform. Past conferences have been held in New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego and San Francisco and have included substantive presentations by leading Irish government ministers, department heads, U.S. immigration law reform advocates, counselors and psychologists. The Coalition also works with similarly focused groups such as the Federation of Irish Societies in the United Kingdom, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration Committee and others on areas of mutual concern and benefit.
The CIIC will hold its next annual conference in Seattle in mid-spring 2007. Along with addressing the perennial issue of immigration reform, the conference will have a special focus on facing the challenges of the growing problems of suicide, depression and mental health issues within Irish communities throughout the U.S., with the goal of starting a process of giving its member centers the tools to provide relevant education, information and outreach on these important issues.
The CIIC looks forward to continuing its mission in these challenging and changing times for Irish immigrants in the U.S. For further information on the CIIC and its work, contact at info@ciic-usa.org.
Bartholomew Murphy is president of the board of the CIIC.
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