By April Drew

Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, will headline the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) rally at St. Barnabas Church in Woodlawn on Friday, December 1.

Also attending will be Congressman Anthony Weiner, who will be a key figure on the House Judiciary Subcommittee when Congress reconvenes in January.

“Having Chuck Schumer and Anthony Weiner come is a tremendous boost,” said Kelly Fincham, executive director of ILIR. “We have always found them tremendously supportive of our cause to legalize the Irish and bring fairness back to immigration law. We are delighted they will attend.”

Schumer, who masterminded the Democratic victory in the Senate on Election Day, is considered among the most powerful political figures in Washing-ton. He will play a major role in the immigration debate in the new Senate when it meets in January.

Schumer was in charge of picking candidates and fundraising for the Senate hopefuls. Against all odds Democrats gained seven seats in the Senate elections, making Schumer the key kingmaker in American politics.

“Make no mistake about it, there are many key senators who owe their election to Chuck Schumer,” said Fincham. “We know he will be on our aide to influence many votes on this issue.”

Schumer has been a long-time supporter of ILIR and first announced his support for the Kennedy/McCain immigration reform bill at an ILIR meeting in Queens February.

“We are starting our drive to legalize the Irish with this meeting,” said Ciaran Staunton, vice chairman of ILIR, “and having Senator Schumer and Congressman Weiner there sends a powerful message that we have huge support for immigration reform.”

ILIR is gearing up for a big turnout at their “Countdown to Victory” meeting in St. Barnabas on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Mary Brennan, chairperson of the ILIR Bronx Wednesday night meetings, is optimistic about the numbers expected.

“The buzz is good. People are very motivated to get this over and done with this year and Friday night will prove that,” Brennan said.

Brennan went on to say that the group of 30 volunteers from Queens and the Bronx have been out to disseminate information to the local bars and restaurants, and the feedback was extremely positive.

“It is very important that we all stay together on this issue and that we support each other. The feedback was very positive last week. People feel that this is the year for the immigration reform,” she said.

Fincham is also insisting how important it is for as many as possible to show up at Friday’s meeting.

“It doesn't matter if they need a green card or they know someone who needs a green card, now is the time to show up and be counted,” she said.

The prospect of immigration reform has never looked so good as it does now, according to Fincham.

“Everyone is talking about doing something to fix the immigration issue. House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi, President Bush, Senator Kennedy and Senator McCain already had meetings about immigration reform, and apparently when Pelosi met with Bush last week the only issue they were energized on was immigration,” Fincham said.

Fincham warns people that when the final shake up happens ILIR needs to keep their numbers up and make sure they don't get lost in the shuffle, because in the big picture of things the Irish are still in the minority.

“There is no point six months down the road sitting at home kicking ourselves for not showing up for the meeting in the Bronx. The time to show up is now,” continues Fincham. “These people in power need to see the huge numbers that are in support of immigration reform locally.”

For further information on the meeting visit www.legalizetheirish.org. The back page ad on this week’s issue also gives directions.