Bob Menendez: “I rise today on behalf of Noel Gaynor, his family, and six other families on whom injustice has fallen across the ocean…”

“I rise today on behalf of Noel Gaynor, his family, and six other families on whom injustice has fallen across the ocean from Ireland to America. The Irish political deportees, as they are referred to, left Ireland to restart their lives in America. Today they are engaged in a different struggle with the U.S. Department of Justice which relentlessly seeks to deport them for their political beliefs. Each man is married to an American citizen or permanent resident. These men are not wanted by anyone. They were prosecuted for political reasons in the British Diplock Courts. That means one British judge, no jury, confessions which were extracted under torture and duress, and as such, they were sentenced and held with a special political status, a direct acknowledgment of their status as British political prisoners. All of them have proven through years of residence their commitment to their families, communities, and indeed to the American dream. This is a photo of Sinead Gaynor holding a sign at a demonstration which says ``Don't Deport My Daddy.'' She and the other nine American children are the reason we are here today. Sinead deserves the same opportunity to live in America and realize her dream as any other child. These people should not be deported.”