Irish immigrant in Chicago since the 1920s dies 4 weeks short of US citizenship dream

Image: Chicago Irish Immigrant Support

An Irishwoman, who was undocumented and living in Chicago since the 1920s, has died just four weeks short of her dream of becoming an American citizen.

Josephine Stout made headlines last December when an update to her public aid file led her to discover that she had been living in the US illegally for over nine decades. The 90-year-old had  no passport, no voter registration card and no birth certificate, as she had arrived in the city when she was a toddler.

The discovery in 1999 meant that Stout was instantly declared an undocumented immigrant, even though she had lived in the US for the vast majority of her life.

'What did I know about being from Ireland?', she told the Chicago Tribune at the end of last year, 'I don't even have an accent. I have always said, "I am an American, period."'

Her new-found status also meant that Stout could not claim public aid, leaving her struggling to care for her grandchildren. She instantly began a lengthy campaign to be declared a permanent legal resident, only receiving her green card recently.

Brendan Magee of the Chicago Irish Immigrant Support submitted her application for naturalisation in December. However, with her health failing rapidly, immigration officials were asked to take the unusual step of expediting her application.

The agency was in the process of doing so when Stout died.

'She was delighted to become a green card holder,' Brendan told the newspaper, 'Josephine was a woman who showed such great fortitude. In my eyes she was indicative of that fighting Irish spirit you see in so many women of her generation.'

Additionally, the group posted up this message on their Facebook page:

Read Josephine's full story in the Chicago Tribune.

Categories: Irish, Chicago, Josephine Stout, Citizenship

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