February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Rep. Stephen Rothman was attending a meeting in Secaucus when he received word that McAllister had surrendered himself to the Bureau of Customs and Immigration Enforcement in nearby Newark.
“I had first met the McAllisters some time ago in my office in Washington and I had been immediately touched by the tremendous suffering the family had already gone through. I decided that they had suffered enough,” Rothman, a Democrat who represents New Jersey’s ninth district, said.
It was Rothman who authored a co-sign letter in support of the McAllisters once it became known that deportation of all six members of the family might be only days away.
But important though the letter was to the family’s cause, it was not going to be enough on its own, according to Rothman.
“Political pressure is enormously important. The Irish American community and all who support its causes play a very powerful role in persuading our nation’s highest officials,” Rothman, who is a former judge, said.
Rothman said he believed the co-sign letter had some beneficial effect in the McAllister case as it came down to the wire.
However, it wasn’t enough on its own. It wasn’t even the only letter.
Rep. Peter King, a co-chair of the congressional Ad Hoc Committee for Irish Affairs, had rushed off a letter to Department of Homeland Security chief, Tom Ridge, on Friday, Nov. 21, the day that federal immigration agents had arrived at the front door of the McAllister home in Wallington, NJ, looking for Malachy McAllister.
The Long Island republican, in his letter, requested that deportation proceedings against all the McAllisters be suspended in the same way that they had been halted in the cases of the so-called “deportees” following the signing of the Good Friday agreement.
After his letter was drafted, Rep. Rothman also got in touch with the Department of Homeland Security. But by phone.
“I do believe my letter had some good effect, but most important was my direct contact with Under Secretary Asa Hutchinson,” Rothman said.
Hutchinson’s full job title is Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security, Department of Homeland Security. His brief covers the BICE.
More importantly, however was the fact that Rothman and Hutchinson, himself a former congressman, know each other personally.
“We sat together on the judiciary committee, albeit on opposite sides of the aisle and during a difficult time, the impeachment proceedings (against President Clinton),” said Rothman.
“But we respected each other and we maintained our friendship.”
Rothman had called Hutchinson’s office on Nov. 21 concerned that his co-sign letter might not be enough to keep the McAllisters from being arrested or deported.
Hutchinson was not in his office, but Rothman left a detailed message as to why he was calling and what immediate relief he was seeking for Malachy McAllister in particular.
“I was at the meeting on Monday when I heard that Malachy and his lawyers had presented themselves at the BICE detention center,” Rothman said.
Rothman covered the few miles from Secaucus to Newark in minutes and arrived to find a large posse of journalists outside the BICE offices.
Once inside, it became apparent to Rothman that BICE officials might not be intent on immediately enforcing an order of deportation against Malachy McAllister.
Sensing a possible change of heart on the part of the bureau, Rothman called Hutchinson again.
“This time I spoke with him directly. I made the point that Malachy posed no threat to national security and that his detention would be unjust and unnecessary,” he said.
Rothman asked Hutchinson to use his discretionary power to free McAllister pending his appeal before the federal 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.
“Under Secretary Hutchinson said he would call the BICE right away and address that,” Rothman said.
Rothman was quick to point out his belief that it was government’s first priority to protect the people in a hostile and dangerous world.
“But at the same time, we don’t have to give up what makes our society special,” he said.
Rothman said he was proud to have assisted in stopping what he called “this injustice” but added that the McAllister family’s lawyers deserved greater praise.
“They did a magnificent job,” he said.
“I am delighted that Malachy will return home to be with his family and will remain free while his asylum appeal is pending,” Rothman said.
He added that he would continue to campaign on behalf of the McAllisters.
“We must keep up the political pressure in Congress to get the administration’s attention. The McAllister family deserves sanctuary in our nation. They pose no threat to our nation and simply want the chance to raise their children safe from harm,” he said.
“If necessary, we may need to consider legislation to address this precise issue.”