Paul Ryan draws bipartisan backlash over visa proposal to increase Irish immigration

Bill has become divisive topic among conservatives and liberals

As one of his final acts, House Speaker Paul Ryan is pushing a proposal that would greatly expand access to work visas for Irish nationals — a nod to his ancestral heritage — and drawing backlash from both sides of the political aisle.

The Senate is slated to vote on a bill supported by the Wisconsin Republican that cleared the House in November, which provides Irish applicants thousands of unused E-3 visas typically allocated to Australian citizens working in “speciality occupations” in the US.

Ireland supports the move and has announced a reciprocal measure that would supply additional work visas to US applicants.

But the bill has become a divisive topic among conservatives and liberals alike, with right-wing website Breitbart referring to it as “amnesty for Irish lobbies” and the left pointing out the GOP’s apparent refusal to support Latin American refugees while expanding immigration access for a country with a predominantly-Caucasian population like Ireland.

The vote appears to be a personal one for Mr Ryan, whose family fled Ireland in 1851 after a historic four-year famine resulted in mass migration, starvation and the spread of disease across the country.

However, the bill — which must be passed in a unanimous vote before being sent to the president’s desk — is reportedly still being blocked by a single Republican senator, after six GOP politicians previously stalled the legislation, according to Irish Central.

Democratic politicians approved the bill during an uncontested voice vote in the US House of Representatives, and senate minority leader Chuck Schumer — who maintains support among New York’s Irish-American voters — has reportedly expressed support for the legislation as well.

However, it remains unclear whether the proposal will be able to pass through the Senate unanimously as the governing body reconvenes on Monday amid the looming possibility of a government shutdown.

Donald Trump has demanded $5bn (£4bn) be included in the next government spending bill to go towards his campaign promise of a wall stretching the entirety of the US-Mexico border, despite not having the votes in the Senate for the funding.

The president has not yet indicated whether he supports the measure to expand access to work visas for Irish nationals.

Ireland’s taoiseach Leo Varadkar has reportedly heavily lobbied Mr Trump on the bill, with Irish officials vowing additional concessions if the measure is approved by the White House, including easing access for American retirees who wish to move to the country.

“The bill will now be sent to the US Senate and it needs to be passed thereby unanimous consent meaning that it will require the agreement of all 100 senators for this to be signed into law,” Irish politician John Deasy, who supports the measure, said in a recent interview. “I am under no illusions how difficult that may be.”

On Saturday, Democratic senator Brian Schatz lambasted Mr Ryan over the bill, writing on Twitter: “Paul Ryan is still the Speaker of the House and they are out of session until Wednesday, with shutdown looming Friday. But, in his defense he IS (checks notes) working on getting more (checks notes again to make sure) people from Ireland into America.”

“Seriously,” he added, “he is doing that.”