Irish Immigration Reform Movement, Boston Chapter Records
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Abstract
The Irish Immigration Reform Movement (IIRM) was a grassroots organization established in 1987 whose primary objective was to legalize the status of undocumented immigrations from Ireland and 34 other countries adversely affected by America's 1965 Immigration Act. This collection documents the activities of the organization's Boston branch, which combined traditional grassroots activism with legislative lobbying to provide assistance to immigrants in the greater Boston area, leverage Irish American political influence, help shape U.S. immigration policy in the late 1980s, and energize the Irish American political presence in Washington. This collection consists of publications, artifacts, photographs, memoranda, correspondence, research files, congressional transcripts, newspaper clippings, and video footage collected by Gregory Glynn during the course of his involvement with the Boston, Massachusetts chapter of the IIRM. The bulk of the materials date between 1986 and 1989, and document the organization's advocacy and assistance efforts on behalf of Irish immigrants living in the greater Boston area, with an emphasis on providing assistance to immigrants on day-to-day concerns such a housing and employment. The collection also illustrates the organization's lobbying efforts, at both the local and national level, to introduce legislation and other federal policies to increase visa availability, change the immigration quota system, and provide more straightforward paths to legalization.
Historical Note
The Irish Immigration Reform Movement (IIRM) was a grassroots organization established in 1987 whose primary objective was to legalize the status of undocumented immigrations from Ireland and 34 other countries adversely affected by America's 1965 Immigration Act. The IIRM ceased activities in 1992. The creator of this collection, Gregory Glynn, was a publicity officer and one of the founding members of the organization's Boston branch.
Working for legislative reform, the IIRM grew from a small New York-based group to a national organization with branches in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, Washington, Kansas City, San Francisco, and San Jose. The organization's Boston branch, dedicated to the needs of undocumented Irish immigrants in the Massachusetts area, was founded on August 26, 1987 and was located in Dorchester. Combining traditional grassroots activism with legislative lobbying, the IIRM leveraged Irish American political influence to influence U.S. immigration policy in the late 1980s and in the process energized the Irish American political presence in Washington.
The Immigration Act of 1990 (H.R. 4300) stands as the primary legislative legacy of the IIRM. This legislation provided a three-year transitional visa program through which 48,000 visas were granted to Ireland, as well as the annual diversity visa lottery program which continued into the 21st century.
Reflecting the IIRM's "all-Ireland" perspective, the transitional visa program contained a provision defining Northern Ireland as a separate state. This unique element, secured through intense lobbying by the IIRM, enabled thousands from Northern Ireland to participate in the visa lottery who, prior to this, had been ineligible because the United States' immigration system classified them as English.
The IIRM was also instrumental in securing 25,000 visas for Ireland through several extensions of the Donnelly Visa program from 1988 up to the implementation of the Immigration Act of 1990.
In order to address the day-to-day problems of documented as well as undocumented Irish at the time, IIRM members established the Emerald Isle Immigration Center (EIIC), which since 1988 has served as a model for similar advice and advocacy agencies in the United States. It operated New York City offices in Woodside, Queens and in Woodlawn, the Bronx.
Arrangement
Files are arranged alphabetically.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of publications, artifacts, photographs, memoranda, correspondence, research files, congressional transcripts, newspaper clippings, and video footage collected by Gregory Glynn during the course of his involvement with the Boston, Massachusetts chapter of the Irish Immigration Reform Movement. The bulk of the materials date between 1986 and 1989, and document the organization's advocacy and assistance efforts on behalf of Irish immigrants living in the greater Boston area, with an emphasis on providing assistance to immigrants on day-to-day concerns such a housing and employment. These efforts were often carried out in collaboration with other agencies and organizations in the area, including advocacy groups focused on different immigrant communities. The collection also illustrates the organization's lobbying efforts, at both the local and national level, to introduce legislation and other federal policies to increase visa availability, change the immigration quota system, and provide more straightforward paths to legalization.
Subjects
Organizations
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Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Gregory Glynn, the creator of this collection, were transferred to New York University in 2014. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Irish Immigration Reform Movement, Boston Chapter Records; AIA 073; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Gregory Glynn in October 2014, with additional accretions donated by Glynn in June 2018 and August 2023. The accession numbers associated with this gift are 2014.179, 2018.113, and 2023.101.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Materials were received unarranged and undescribed in a bankers box, with some materials loose and others in untitled manila folders. The collection was rehoused in acid-free folders and boxes, described, and arranged by an archivist due the absence of any original order. Groupings of like materials (i.e. flyers, newspapers) were kept together when they were present. In November 2023, an accretion was rehoused in archival boxes, retaining original folders when possible. Materials in the accretion were intellectually incorporated into the collection's existing alphabetic arrangement.
