Barack Obama did not like when Israeli prime minister Benjmain Netanyahu used a joint congressional meeting to criticize his Iran plan. But yesterday the president let the Irish prime minister, Enda Kenny, use his podium to attack Congress on immigration at a St. Patrick’s Day reception at the White House.
Kenny also thanked Obama for his executive amnesty.
“Let me thank you, in particular, Mr. President, for the work that you are doing to achieve immigration reform and, in particular, for the executive actions, which you announced last November. (Applause.) The undocumented Irish represent a small proportion of the 11 million people affected by this issue across the United States, but I can also tell you that almost every family in our country is related to or knows somebody who is caught up in this deeply distressing situation. Any progress that would allow our undocumented to come out of the shadows and be free to travel home for family events would be very welcome and your very welcome ambassador, Kevin O’Malley, understands this deeply on his own personal family side,” Kenny said, according to a White House transcript of the event.
“We also want to see a legal pathway for the future for Irish people to make their full contribution here if they so choose. I can assure you this evening, Mr. President, that we will continue to add our voice to the many voices calling on this Congress to pass immigration reform legislation as soon as possible.”
The White House crowd applauded.
Kenny also thanked Obama for his work on the U.S. economy. “When we met in the Oval Office this morning, says he — (laughter) — we had the opportunity to discuss the progress that we are making in our economic recovery through the perseverance and the determination of the Irish people. The United States remains our most important economic partner and the support of the U.S. has been critical to the progress that we are making. The improvement that the U.S. economy is making under your leadership, President, is essential not only to jobs and growth in the United States, but also to Ireland’s recovery and growth throughout the global economy.”
