Foreign Affairs Minister hails US immigration reform
The Foreign Affairs Minister said Barack Obama's immigration reform plan is the "first step forward" for the undocumented Irish in America.
Charlie Flanagan says the plan, which could save five million immigrants from deportation, represents "real progress" and he hopes it wins the support of Congress.
The plan will allow undocumented migrants who have been living illegally in the US for five years and have children born in America, to apply for three-year work permits.
President Obama's opponents have already hit out at the plan, which the President announced unilaterally, as the "act of a monarch".
But Minister Charlie Flanagan said he is hopeful it will have a real impact on the Irish in America.
"The executive action on the part of the president will now lift hat threat of deportation, and it will allow them to work and travel more freely in the United Sates.
"It will also allow many of them to come home to Ireland, and this has been a real issue, as far as the Irish are concerned - the right to travel. People [have] been unable to attend funerals, christenings, [and] weddings."
