Former US Congressman Bruce Morrison has been honored at a ceremony in Dublin for his role in the Northern Ireland peace process.
President Michael D Higgins attended the ceremony in honor of the former Congressman, and presented him with a ‘Peace Builder’ award on behalf of the New Jersey-based Drew University.
Mr Morrison is best known in Ireland for pioneering the US Immigration Reform Act in 1990, which legislated for nearly 50,000 visas for Irish immigrants (known as the Morrison Visa scheme).
“The visa scheme deriving from this bill will forever be associated with your name and indeed, who in Ireland hasn’t heard of the ‘Morrison Visas’?
“This is because 40% of those visas were allotted to Irish citizens, reflecting the very special relationship between our two countries,” said Mr Higgins.
