Irish Emigres

A recently deposed Irish political leader blamed the surge in an already high Irish unemployment rate on the return of emigrants. Sean T. Kenny (“The Wearing of the Green Card,” Commentary, March 17) would have us believe, in a logic dangerously close to blarney, that Ireland would achieve its full potential if America opened its doors to Irish citizens. Such reasoning is fatally flawed. Ireland will never achieve its full potential if the force for change is dispersed all over the globe.

As an Irish college graduate who, like Kenny, emigrated in 1987, I am currently undergoing the rigors of obtaining a green card. Certainly I’d like a speedier processing of my case. But to obtain this (just) because I’m Irish--and we supposedly are a special case according to Kenny--I find embarrassing and grossly insulting to the millions from other cultures who, like the Irish, contributed to the building of America.

FINBAR A. O’KEEFFE

Long Beach