My maternal grandfather, Richard Barry, arrived in this country as an immigrant from Ireland in 1871. The ship’s log  recorded his name and lists him as “laborer,” though he was only twelve years old.

Besides the rich genetic inheritance passed on to me, he also gave me two of his names. I treasure his achievements in establishing himself as a successful leather worker and ultimately a factory owner. Even more do I appreciate the way he and my grand-mother founded a family that handed down to me a strong tradition of community service and spiritual values.

From this one part of my family tradition, you can understand why the immigration of other people to America stirs sympathy in me. My strong instinct is to welcome those who have come from other countries to ours. Especially as I enter into later years, I  feel happy about the stimulation that has come with the growing diversity of our national life.

I also admire people who work on behalf of immigrants’ rights. Among them is Miriam Stein, a reader of this column in Arlington, who suggested that I write about an event scheduled for this week. Miriam works at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refu-gee Advocacy Coalition, the agency that is coordinating this event.

On Friday, September 17th a delegation of 80 Massachusetts immigrants and their advocates will travel from Boston to Washington in order to visit the offices of Representatives and Senators. They will be joined there by some one thousand newcomers from the other states.

The date chosen was designated Citizenship Day (formerly called “Constitution Day” ) in 1952, a time appointed for honoring the American Constitution for the freedoms it guarantees us and for recognizing the people who have become citizens here.

On this occasion, the visitors to the capital intend to speak with members of Congress about softening some provisions of three 1996 laws connected with welfare reform. These changes went beyond the intent of many members of Congress and have adversely affected non-citizens, some of whom have lived in the United States for a long time.

The advocates in Washington will ask legislators to fix repressive features of the 1996 laws. The first of the proposed “Fix 96” bills would restore benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps, and SSI (Supplemental Security Income) to immigrants who have lost these supports.

They include children, victims of domestic violence, elders, and people with dis-abilities. Though Massachusetts has replaced these cuts with a program of its own, the Commonwealth is the only state to do so.

A second bill would allow immigrants who are eligible for permanent resident visas to stay here until their applications are processed. Without this provision, many breadwinners have been expelled and forced to wait elsewhere as long as ten years for permanent residency, thus reducing members of their families (many of them citizens) to poverty.

Thirdly, another bill would provide relief and equal treatment to many Hondurans, Guatemalans, Salvadorans, and Haitians living in the United States. Many immigrants from Cuba and Nicaragua were allowed to get green cards; this would give parity to the four groups named above.

Finally, the Family Reunification Act of 1999, legislation sponsored by Representative Barney Frank, would stop automatic deportation of long-term legal residents for relatively minor transgressions committed many years ago. Though it may sound like a good idea to bar such people from citizenship, the matter is more complicated than that. Some young people, for instance, may have been falsely accused and yet convicted.

I talked to a woman named Raquel Matthews, an immigrant from Colombia now living in Lynn. Her nephew has been deported to Colombia after having completed a ten-year prison term for possession of cocaine. A U. S. Army veteran, the man has two tee-nage daughters who live in Florida and whom he is not allowed to see.

Of her nephew she says,  “I’m not taking away from what he did, but his whole family is hurt.  It’s not fair, he paid his dues.”

I also interviewed two advocates who are flying  to Washington. Patricia Lambert, a Sister of St. Joseph resident in Waltham and a long-time supporter of people in need, explains why she’s going:  “To me it’s really important as a religious woman to join with others when justice issues are being addressed.”

Sister Pat, now 71, identifies with immigrants much the way I do. Comparing  to-day’s immigrants with her Irish ancestors, she says: “This is the same kind of people looking for the same things.”

Victor Do Couto, himself an immigrant from the Azores at age six, currently directs MAPS (Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers). He explains his involve-ment: “In 1996 some unfair, punitive, and blatantly anti-immigrant legislation was passed. In so doing they lumped all immigrants and all aliens together. They also restricted immigrants who are legal and pay taxes. I have a problem with that.”

So do I.

Richard Griffin