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27th Nov 2016

Boston mayor pledges to protect undocumented Irish in the city from Trump’s deportation promises

Carl Kinsella

While on the campaign trail, Donald Trump famously announced his intentions to forcibly deport 11 million undocumented migrants from the United States.

Cities across the US have vowed to stand up against the removal of people who have already made a life for themselves in the US, and Boston mayor Marty Walsh has added his voice to that number.

“Boston is a city of inclusion, welcoming diversity. We are a global city and we are going to stay that way. We are not going to stop being that city that respects immigrants, both documented and undocumented.”

Walsh, a 49-year-old Democrat whose parents are from Galway, repeated this pledge to the Irish Times, saying: “We are a country founded by immigrants. That’s the root of our country. Villainising immigrants is not the way to go.”

Trump has promised to investigated not only undocumented immigrants, but also those misusing all residency visas — including the H1B work visa, and the J1 graduate visa.

“It is going to be years before anything can be figured out. You can make a tough statement but that doesn’t actually mean that you can change the system,” Walsh has assured.

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