February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The enforced isolation from family and loved ones back in Ireland is never so strongly felt than in the season of giving and sharing.
It will be too much for some. They will take the chance and fly the Atlantic. Whether they succeed in getting back into the U.S. is a crap shoot.
This Christmas poses even greater obstacles than the last. Enhanced scrutiny at airports, and now along the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico, mean that the undocumented have little or no cover should they attempt to leave the U.S. and regain entry in the days after the holiday.
For those who stay put, the level of immediate worry is less. But that’s cold comfort when you are unable to embrace a mom and dad, grandparent, sister or brother, niece or nephew.
Nobody can be sure how many Irish this year face such a prospect. Clearly, not as many as a few years ago. Many have returned to a more prosperous Ireland. Many have given up on a less hospitable America.
But for those who remain, it can only be hoped that 2005 will witness the beginning of an immigration-reform process that delivers a bit of belated Christmas spirit to people who have, in many cases, devoted the most productive years of their lives to the advancement of the collective American dream.
Maybe, just maybe, the refrain 12 months from now will be on the lines of wanting nothing more for Christmas than a hug from a loved one.
And the reality will be actually getting one.