Happy St. Patrick's Day

As we celebrate all things Irish-American today, let us reflect on the fact that not so long ago a wave of Irish immigrants were treated with suspicion and disregard by existing residents of this land, even though all of us had come over on some boat or another not too long prior. And yet today it is difficult to imagine anyone in mainstream America expressing prejudice toward an Irish-American because of their heritage or religious affiliation. In fact, many of us without a drop of Irish in our blood celebrate this day with genuine enthusiasm.

We are indeed an adaptable species with a great ability to accept our differences and cherish our diversity, when we set our minds to it. I hope we use today as an opportunity to reflect on the struggles of a new generation of immigrants, the vast majority of whom are good, honest, hard-working families who seek the same freedom and opportunity that many of our forefathers were chasing in their journeys across a vast ocean. While my faith in this Congress to work together and find common ground on the great issues of our day continues to be very low, I hold out hope that it will pass immigration reform before too long that provides justice and peace, acceptance and opportunity for all the otherwise law-abiding, hard-working people who are living in the shadows for no good reason, other than an out-of-date set of public policies. Bringing them into the light would be good for all of us.

I raise my Irish ale in a toast to all who are working on immigration reform for this generation of newcomers. May your efforts be successful.

Ingrid