Irish Key to Bronx Race

by Tom deignan

IRISH activists and at least one elected representative may revive the famed Irish Immigration Reform Movement (IIRM) of the late 1980s.

This is the latest news to come out of a Bronx-Yonkers political contest in which Irish voters and activists are playing a key role.

In a recent interview with the Irish Voice, Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel said the time may be right for a new version of the IIRM, a group which played a key role in reforming immigration laws in the late 1980s when the Irish were flooding the north Bronx and Yonkers, an area which Engel now represents in Congress.

“We might have to revive (IIRM),” said Engel, who has accused the Bush administration of targeting Irish immigrants for deportation in order to refute charges that the administration discriminates against Arabs.

News that the IIRM might return would seem to suggest that Engel’s support among the Irish in the north Bronx and Yonkers is airtight. But an Irish American newcomer to the political scene is mounting a strong challenge to Engel.

Kevin McAdams is a former member of the FDNY as well as the U.S. Navy. After September 11, “when (I) sifted through the rubble at Ground Zero,” McAdams decided to “get involved with the world.” 

Ultimately, McAdams decided to run for Congress in his native district. In fact, McAdams now lives in the Yonkers home where he was born. He cites his knowledge of the heavily Irish district as one of the reasons why voters should send Engel packing.

“(Engel) is not doing enough for my district,” McAdams charged.

Engel and McAdams will face off in a Democratic primary vote in September. As things are shaping up, the Irish vote could prove critical. For that reason, both candidates are working overtime in an effort to organize and woo Irish voters.

“There are 30,000 Irish Democrats in the district,” McAdams estimated, illustrating the impact Irish voters could have on this primary.

Both candidates say they will best serve the voters of the 17th Congressional district, which sprawls from the tip of New York City and across Yonkers into other upstate suburbs.

McAdams has harsh words for Engel’s record since September 11, citing Engel’s votes supporting the Iraq invasion and Patriot Act. McAdams argues that the deportation provisions of the latter have hit Irish immigrants particularly hard.

As one McAdams campaign document puts it: “Irish immigrants have been subjected to expedited deportation processes stemming from political controversies that occurred decades ago overseas.” 

McAdams, whose mother’s family came from a farm outside Bally-

nahinch, Co. Down, has lined up some serious labor support, including heavily Irish unions such as Local 608 (carpenters) and local 40 (Ironworkers). Top firefighters unions have also endorsed McAdams.

But Engel can call upon his own impressive array of support in the Irish community. In a congressional career that has lasted nearly two decades, Engel has stood by the likes of Sean Mackin and Malachy McAllister, immigrants who argue they have unfairly been targeted by both the British and U.S. governments. 

Engel’s work was recently honored by the Co. Antrim Society in Yonkers, and he was a supporter of Gerry Adams long before the Good Friday accords.

At the end of last month Engel made a trip to Belfast where he met with leaders of Sinn Fein, the SDLP and members of Unionist parties.

“People in the district know my strengths on (Irish issues),” Engel said.

On the controversial issue of the Patriot Act Engel stands by his vote, though he adds that serious portions of the large bill need to be reformed, including those which target certain immigrants.

Engel again blasted efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to deport Irish immigrants with checkered political pasts, and thinks revising the IIRM might shed light on how the Bush administration is using “Irish immigrants to balance off their sheet.” 

Engel said he welcomed the McAdams’ challenge, but added that he believes the former firefighter has “no track record in elective office.”

McAdams, however, argues that it is time for “new blood,” and that his background in union, military and civil service work reflects the makeup of the 17th district.

With just six weeks of campaigning to go, the rhetoric is sure to heat up. And Irish voters may very well end up deciding this primary.

(Contact Sidewalks at tdeignan@irishvoice.com.)