Immigration is very unpopular in US politics today – but it wasn’t always the case.
Back in 1990, Democratic and Republican members of Congress got together to write a landmark Immigration Act – a sweeping reform of the system that opened up multiple pathways to legal immigration.
One of them became known as the “Morrison Visa,” named after Connecticut Congressman Bruce Morrison, one of the authors of the legislation.
Under the scheme, which ran from 1992-1995, some 45,000 Irish people from all 32 counties went to the US to live and work and eventually become US citizens.
Tonight, dozens from that generation of visa recipients will gather at a gala dinner at New York’s iconic Rockefeller Centre to celebrate Mr Morrison’s legacy.
The event has been organised by the Morrison Legacy Foundation, which has also gathered stories of many of the Morrison Visa holders to feature on their website.
“The Morrison Visa was more than just paperwork,” wrote Brian D of Co Kildare, “it was the key that opened the door to everything that followed”.
