February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Patrick Markey
After two INS raids on illegal immigrants working in Philadelphia, a federation of Irish-Americans groups is trying the establish an immigration center to provide advice and assistance to the area’s Irish community.
Although the region has several Irish associations and a volunteer emergency hotline, Philadelphia has no established immigration center similar to the services offered in Boston and New York. The Federation of Irish Societies hopes the planned Philadelphia Irish Immigrant Resource Center will help fill that gap.
“There’s been a need for this for a long time. We’ve not really organized ourselves in the way that Boston and New York have,” Tom Conaghan, federation president, said.
With a number of young people overstaying visas and working in live-in jobs, the region does have a need for a center where young people can feel comfortable going for advice, he said.
Six years ago, Conaghan and others had tried to set up a center for immigrants, but a lack of financial backing scuttled the plan. When five Irish were arrested in two separate raids in Philadelphia last month, Conaghan and other federation members decided it was time to try again. INS agents with warrants hit two restaurants in West Darby in June. After that raid and a later operation in the Brighton section of Boston, panic rippled through the illegal Irish communities in both cities.
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Federation members have already made a request for funding assistance from the Irish government, which supports similar centers in New York and Boston. The Philadelphia plan would require an estimated $70,000 in start-up costs, Conaghan said. Later, the center would run as a non-for-profit organization funded on grants.
“We really need them for the seeding money initially to get it off the ground,” Conaghan said. “We have big plans, and we know it’s going to take time.”
Plans for the new center include legal services provided by immigration lawyers, visa information, and advice on housing, medical care services and insurance. Similar to the services offered by the Emerald Isle center in New York, the Philadelphia center would also provide citizenship information for the area’s Irish residents who have green cards but have yet to take U.S. citizenship.
One problem peculiar to the South Jersey and suburban Philadelphia is live-in nanny jobs and the issue of abusive employers. Conaghan said several young Irish woman had gone through horror stories of exploitation and abuse in houses where they live and work.
As part of the new project, the federation plans to hold a two-day conference on immigration and the law on Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12, at the Irish Center, 6815 Emlen St., Mt. Airy, Pa. On Saturday, organizers and invited experts will discuss immigration topics. On Sunday, the conference will be open to the public with a panel discussion of immigration issues, and experts will provide advice for undocumented residents.
For details on the conference, call Maureen Baker at (610) 933-3985.