New push for McAllister family

A bipartisan letter is gathering signatures on Capitol Hill this week before being sent to Michael Chertoff, head of the Department of Homeland Security.
And the family’s congressman, New Jersey Democrat Steve Rothman, is reintroducing a private bill in the House of Representatives aimed at securing permanent legal status for the family, which suffered a tragedy just over a year ago when Malachy McAllister’s wife, Bernadette, died from cancer.
The letter to Chertoff, co-authored by Rothman and GOP rep. Peter King, requests the homeland security chief’s intervention in the case of Malachy McAllister and his two dependent children, Nicola and Sean.
“The McAllister family is seeking political asylum in the United States based on past persecution they have suffered and a fear that their lives will be in danger if they are returned to Northern Ireland,” the letter states.
The letter points out that following the Good Friday agreement, the U.S. suspended deportation proceedings against nine Irish nationals charged with various offenses in Northern Ireland arising out of the troubles.
“We respectfully request that you suspend deportation proceedings for Malachy, Nicola, and Sean McAllister,” the congressional letter continues.
The letter notes that Malachy McAllister served time in prison during the 1980s for offenses arising out of the conflict in Northern Ireland.
“When Mr. McAllister was released from prison, loyalist paramilitaries fired 26 shots into his family’s home, barely missing his children and mother-in-law,” the letter informs Chertoff.
This attack had forced the family to flee Belfast.
“If they are deported from the United States, the McAllister family is likely to face the same dangers in Northern Ireland that they escaped from years ago,” the letter contends.
It states the view of the signatories that McAllister and his children are neither a threat to the United States nor its citizens.
McAllister, indeed, was a strong proponent of the peace process, itself in accordance with the policies of the Bush and Clinton administrations.
The letter urges Chertoff to take “quick action” to suspend deportation proceedings.
In a separate move, rep. Eliot Engel also argued for leniency on the part of U.S. authorities.
“The McAllister family represents no threat whatsoever to the homeland security of the United States,” Engel said.
“This nation was founded on the principal of freedom from religious persecution and violence. Sending the McAllister family back to Ireland would be against everything this country stands for,” Engel said.
“I hope the Bush administration does the right thing and gives the McAllister family political asylum,” the New York Democrat added.