The presentation to Menendez was made by AOH national president Seamus Boyle at a recent ceremony in Newark.
Menendez was given the for sponsoring a bill in the 100th Congress that allowed Malachy McAllister and two of his children who are also threatened with deportation, to remain in the country.
S.2301, a private relief bill introduced by Menendez, stayed the deportation of McAllister and his children, Nicola and Sean Ryan McAllister.
Jere Cole, president of the AOH in New Jersey, of which McAllister is a member, presented Sen. Menendez with an engraved vase.
Seamus Boyle, AOH national president, in turn, presented Menendez with an engraved plaque, and expressed the gratitude of the order for his efforts on behalf of the McAllister family.
“I know the difficulty and hardship the McAllister family has endured and it was an extraordinary case that necessitated a private relief bill on their behalf,” said Menendez.
“This nation was founded so that families like the McAllisters can live in peace without fear of retribution for political, cultural, or religious beliefs. This ideal was true then and it is true now,” he said.
Malachy McAllister and his family fled Belfast after loyalists fired 26 rounds of ammunition into his home.
McAllister, his wife Bernadette, who died in 2004, and children, Gary, Jamie, Nicola, and Sean eventually settled in New Jersey.threats.
In 2007, Malachy McAllister and two if his children, Nicola and Sean, were facing imminent deportation until Menendez sponsored a private relief bill that put a stay on immediate deportation.
Menendez is now working with Department of Homeland Security officials to obtain a waiver for Malachy McAllister and his two children to allow them to stay in the U.S. permanently.
“”I am certainly indebted to the support of everyone here but more so to the senator for all that he’s done for my family,” said McAllister.
“It’s been a long and extremely difficult road and the whole purpose is certainly to give my family a life that was denied to me and my wife.”