On Oct. 2, 2017, the Irish American Democrats bestowed the Immigrant Achievement Award on James Boland, president of the Bricklayers. The following are excerpts from his acceptance speech:
America is a nation of immigrants. Always has been. Always will be. Many of us here know this first hand.
I was born and raised in Leitrim, a county in the northwest of Ireland. It was and continues to be the poorest county in the country….
I came to America in 1970 for the same reason that so many immigrants come here: To find work and build a better life for my family.
When I came here, the Irish were firmly entrenched as a part of the American fabric. Gone were the days of "No Irish Need Apply." A popular Irish-American Catholic had been elected president. And St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated throughout the country with parades and pageantry.
I had relatives here in construction, so I picked up a trowel and never looked back.
First I worked in Chicago and eventually in San Francisco. After a number of work visas, more than I care to remember, I eventually emigrated in 1974 and ultimately became a citizen.
Through hard work and good fortune, I became the president of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, the longest continually operating trade union in North America.
Not too bad for a kid from the bogs of Ireland. And I could not be more humbled and proud to serve in this position.
So it is with great concern I witness the growing tide against immigrants in this country today.
We have a president who has questioned whether an American-born citizen can be a judge, solely because that citizen has American heritage.
We have policies being put into place with the intent of banning people from coming to this country solely on the basis of their religion.
And we have mobs of people gleefully chanting "build the wall" and celebrating an "us vs. them" mentality that reeks with not only symbolism, but also the harsh reality of hatred and bigotry.
America is better than this.
Our immigration policy needs reform—yes. But that reform should reflect compassion and a dedication to serving the best interests of our nation.
My union and its members have felt the pinch of an uneven immigration policy. We have lost work to contractors who compete, not on the quality of their work, but on their ability to take advantage of workers who are not able to protect their rights.
But we don’t blame the workers who are exploited by low-road employers. In fact, we want to organize those workers and make sure they are afforded the rights to fair pay, decent benefits and safe workplaces.
On a personal note, I can’t help but feel both concern and an overwhelming desire to do better when I consider my own family.
The Bolands are proud of our Irish roots. But we also are proud of the other roots that now make up our clan:
- My oldest granddaughter is Isis Alvarez. She is not only the grandchild of an Irish immigrant, but also the grandchild of Nicaraguan and Mexican immigrants.
- Danik Maeve Boland traces her roots to Norway, Germany and Scotland.
- And Donovan DeLaCruz Boland is the grandson of Filipino immigrants.
President John F. Kennedy wrote this about immigration: "The difficult adjustments are made and people get down to the tasks of earning a living, raising a family, living with their neighbors, and, in the process, building a nation."
America is, indeed, a nation of immigrants. We are enriched by the diversity that comes with that heritage.
We always have been. We always will be.
Thank you. Slainte.