The Influence of Immigrants

While still a Senator, John F. Kennedy wrote a book titled, A Nation of Immigrants, and today America is still a nation of immigrants. Immigrants have woven a beautiful tapestry into the past 250 years.

Eight of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were foreign born. When the Country was in turmoil in the American Civil War, many Irish Immigrants fought with the Union to preserve our Nation.

Many religious Sisters, many of foreign birth, assisted both Union and Confederates in their hour of need. These were the people that America needed.

Immigrants were not always welcomed as they arrived in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans and other cities. There were individuals waiting to take advantage of them, especially those not able to speak any English.

No Irish Need Apply

The Irish were met with signs and ads in newspapers that No Irish Need Apply. We again as a country are in a crisis of how we are treating our immigrants.

Many are saying that they should have come in legally, but do not know or understand that America’s immigration system is broken. In my opinion, we need to fix the broken immigration system. Yes, we want our borders to be secured, but at what expense?

All human beings need to be treated with dignity and respect and not be in fear for their lives. We as a nation were founded on Christian and Judeo principles. If the Holy Family was fleeing to America today, how would we treat them? The United State Conference of Catholic Bishops and Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice have spoken out against the way Immigrants are being treated today and are extremely worried that it will get worse with the recent passing of the Budget Bill.

I am a proud granddaughter of Irish immigrants and also a descendant of those Irish that had to flee Ireland because of An Gorta Mor – the Great Hunger. My grandparents allowed me to have the privilege of having my birth registered in the Foreign Birth Book in Ireland, making me a citizen of Ireland and America.

I am very proud of my heritage but also want to be able to share in others heritage too. Cleveland is home to many immigrants from around the world and that makes my hometown very special.

My hometown recently welcomed over 1,500 Choir members from 65 Lithuanian choirs in the United State, Canada and Lithuania. I was honored to attend to support my friend Rasa Chambers as she honored her heritage as a first generation Lithuanian American. This is what makes America great – the beautiful tapestry of all of our citizens.

As an active member of the Irish American Community, I am grateful for the immigrants from Mayo that founded the West Side Irish American Club in 1931.

This club has welcomed many an immigrant from Ireland and promoted our Irish heritage since its founding. Today, we have few immigrants but mostly the membership is made up of First, Second and Third generations of Irish Americans.

As a member of the West Side Irish American Club, I was exposed to Gaelic games. As a representative of the Camogie Board, I attended a meeting in Queens, New York in the early 1980s. This was a time when there were many undocumented Irish and at one gathering there were only two of us from Cleveland that were American citizens.

The Irish were undocumented but did want to stay in the United States for a better life for themselves and their families. The broken immigration system did not allow them to become documented. To help many Irish become documented, a limited amount of Donnelly and Morrison Visas were available.

I am also very involved in the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians. The Ancient Order of Hibernians were founded by Irish immigrants in 1836 to protect the Church and assist fellow Irishmen. The Ladies Auxiliary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians was founded in 1894 to assist the Irish women immigrants.

One of the first projects was to help educate women so that there were other opportunities for them to better themselves and that they could do other jobs beside domestics. A scholarship was started in 1902 and continues today to help the new immigrants.         

Encourage your children to learn about all the role of the Irish at the founding of our country. Many serving in the founding of our country were immigrants. The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Inc (LAOH) sponsors a National Irish History Contest for students in Grades 6 through 12. The Contest is comprised of two (2) Levels: Level 1 is for students in Grades 6, 7, or 8 and Level 2 is for students in Grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Students enrolled in parochial, private, public schools or who are home-schooled are eligible to participate. Students do not need to be Irish. This year’s topic is The Irish and the American Revolution: How the Irish affected the outcome of the American Revolution.

For more information, please see ladiesaoh.com. Cleveland was honored that one of our own, Maeve L., was recognized at the recent Ohio Hibernian Convention for winning the States History Award for last year’s history contest. Maeve is the granddaughter of Irish immigrants that made a difference in the Cleveland Irish Community. Her grandfather served as President of the West Side Irish American Club.

Also at the Ohio State Convention, we were honored to have two immigrants from Derry. Mark Owens was the Guest Speaker at the banquet, where he addressed his story of coming to Cleveland as a student and now making his home in Northeast Ohio. We are honored that Mark is serving our community and building ties between Ireland and Ohio as the first Honorary Consul for the State of Ohio.

The other man from Derry is a good friend of mine, Matt Morrison, who has made a difference as a nurse in the St. Louis area. Both Matt and Mark are graduates of St. Columb’s College. The Motto of the school is “Great Oaks from Little Acorns grow.” Both Matt and Mark have contributed to their adopted home as immigrants.

Immigrants continue to help our American society and, in my opinion, we need to welcome them and fix the broken system. Reach out to your Senators and Representatives – ask for an immigration platform that helps all that are living in the United States today. We need them.