Statement on Pol Brennan

 

     Several incidents have been taking place that would lead one to believe that a very disturbing pattern, one bordering on paranoia, is developing in this country. It would appear that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is targeting undocumented Irish residents of the U.S. for pursuit, apprehension, detention, and eventual deportation. In most of these cases, there have been no laws of a felonious nature that have been broken which would trigger harassment by federal law enforcement agents. It is worthy to mention at this point that neither illegal entry nor overstaying the allotted time on a non-immigrant visa is a felony under U.S. federal law and, under normal circumstances, should not warrant special attention from federal law enforcement officers. However, there have been several cases in recent months that seem to deviate from the normal procedure to which we have become accustomed when dealing with immigration officials.

     The most recent is the case of Belfast native and Long Kesh escapee, Pol Brennan. Pol was among 38 political prisoners, including Joe Doherty and Jimmy Smyth, who escaped in a spectacular jail break from Long Kesh in 1983. They eventually made their way to the U.S. and managed to elude capture and start a new life for themselves here in the U.S. Unfortunately, the long arm of the law caught up with them eventually and this began a long ordeal of imprisonment and court cases that ended with Joe Doherty and Jimmy Smyth being deported and imprisoned, once again, in the infamous Long Kesh.

     Pol Brennan, Terry Kirby, and Kevin Barry Artt were fortunate in that their cases were still in the courts when the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998 and as a result the British government decided to drop the extradition cases against them. The next several years seem to have been relatively uneventful for these men who had endured so much adversity as a result of their association with the Republican Movement in Ireland.

     On January 27, 2008, Pol Brennan’s world came crashing in on him once again. He and his American wife were driving through Texas to visit friends and when asked for identification he produced his Irish documents. A computer check showed that his U.S. work permit had expired and he was taken into custody. He remains in the custody of U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement to this day. His petition for bail to allow him to fight his case has been denied on the ridiculous premise that, if released, he would be a flight risk.

     The Ancient Order of Hibernians California State Board has put forth a resolution in support of Pol Brennan. Our National Board wholeheartedly agrees with that resolution and we give our unequivocal support to the immediate release and an end of the harassment of Pol Brennan by our immigration authorities.

     There have been other similar cases, unfortunately too numerous to mention, involving Irish residents of the U.S. some of whom were, at one time, involved in the Republican Movement in Ireland and although each case is different, there is a thread of commonality running through them. We find it utterly appalling that there appears to be a concerted effort on the part of the U.S. government to target and make examples of undocumented Irish people living here in the U.S. The only real solution is for us to continue working diligently for the passage of  immigration reform legislation that would provide for a pathway to permanent residency status and eventual United States citizenship for undocumented Irish residents.

 

Jack Meehan, National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America