By Joan Bolger

AN innovative new campaign to publicize the plight of the estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish in the U.S. has been gathering pace in Ireland.

“Irish Voices,” founded by Tom Reddy, a public relations manager who offered services for free to the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, calls on the families of the undocumented to voice their concerns in writing.

Reddy founded the group this summer, he says, after it became evident that putting a human face to the problem of illegal immigration was both difficult and yet necessary.

“People relate to people, not figures. Statistics are difficult to engage with, but if we can get people to express things in human terms, we have a better chance,” he explained to the Irish Voice from Dublin last week.

Reddy’s next step was to approach Ireland’s national media, where he says he received huge support. Also key, was a commitment by bishops around Ireland to carry a note in their parish newsletters.

“I suppose it was a novel request and I got lucky. Everybody responded very generously,” he said.

Almost immediately, letters started arriving in their dozens from the families of the undocumented back in Ireland. “There is a terrible human distress story at the heart of these letters, a story of unnecessary misery, of heartache and in some cases bereavement,” said Reddy.

“It is very sad, and not just for those marooned in the U.S. but for the families here in Ireland, who, in a lot of cases are too old to travel,” he said. “Some of them have had their American wake. They talk about how the child is gone and how they have no chance of ever seeing them.”

Reddy says that he thinks that if members of Congress see the letters or meet the families, getting a comprehensive bill on immigration should be a done deal. He insists that if the legislators aren’t made to listen, then they cannot engage.

“This is a question of quality over quantity. Every one story is replicable around the country. I don’t think throwing hundreds of thousands of letters at politicians is going to be effective necessarily,” Reddy says.

“The handwritten letters in which you can almost see the tears on the page are the ones that will stand out. Any one of those letters is worth a million others.”

The letters present a collective narrative that bears witness to the torment of their authors. Inherent is a recurring plea for a chance to be reunited with their relatives, and for the right of sons, daughters, brothers and sisters to travel home without fear of retribution.

Reddy maintains that there are thousands more who would have contacted him were it not for the fact that they are afraid of indicting their relatives in the U.S.

“I got dozens of calls from families saying that they’d love to talk but they are afraid,” he said, and admits that he acknowledges those concerns but that all letters are cited anonymously.

One letter goes as follows:

“My daughter has been in the USA for the past two years. She has a baby that is three months old. She has been unable to come home since she left. Her boyfriend who is also Irish has been in the USA for three years now. She has already missed her brother’s wedding and her niece’s birth.

“I have been able to go to see her but the rest of the family have not. My only wish is that they could travel home for Christmas.”

Another: “Dear Tom, Thank you for this opportunity to voice our concerns regarding our undocumented family member. It is a huge concern to us that this immigration bill is proving extremely difficult to be agreed on by all concerned.

“It is heartbreaking as a family to say an airport goodbye and look at an empty chair on Christmas day. A daily fact for them is a family member becoming ill or dying. We acknowledge the fact they overstayed their visa. Ours stayed during a holiday visit to take care of a legal resident sibling who was experiencing heartbreaking family illness. Our dearest wish now is for a bill to be passed to enable them to regularize their status, get on with their life and the freedom to come back to Ireland to see their family.

“Our letter is anonymous because as you say there is genuine fear among families that their undocumented will be identified.”

Another parent wrote of her skilled son working as an undocumented resident. “My son is one of the many undocumented Irish in the USA. He is an engineer by profession but unfortunately because of his status he is unable to follow his profession. However he has acquired a new skill and now works as a carpenter with an American citizen as his partner.

“He pays his taxes and is law abiding in every other way. He has missed three family weddings, the birth of eight nieces and nephews, and sadly he was not here during the illness of his beloved godparent.

“We try to get a member of the immediate family to visit him every year to date. Unfortunately both my husband and I are getting on in years and this will not be possible for much longer.

Another sibling wrote to Reddy about her brother who has created a life in the U.S., but family life in Ireland has been abandoned as a result.

“My brother went to Boston about ten years ago and met a lovely girl. He made sure to come back to Ireland once or twice a year. He was a real homebird. He stopped coming home after September 11. He has his life over there now but would dearly love to come home to visit.

“His daddy has turned 87 on his last birthday and is stone deaf. Also Daddy has never been on a plane and wouldn’t be able to fly to see him. Therefore there is no communication between him and daddy, only through third party and letter. It breaks both their hearts.

“My mother is sick with worry should anything happen to Daddy or even herself and they might not ever see him. We hope and pray that legislation will let him get home in the near future.”