"The difference between the Irish and the illegal immigrants, though. The Irish came through Ellis Island and weren't sneaking over the border to get in. There's that whole legal thing again."
Exactly! And I never heard of Coyotes on Ellis Island helping them cross over either.
Ellis Island, which was only open from 1892 until 1924, didn't even exist when the vast majority of the Irish immigrated to the United States between 1790 and 1870. And while Irish didn't have "coyotes" to lead them across the border, they did pay middlemen to transport them across the ocean often upon the promise of a job. In fact, many of these middlemen were also paid by employers for delivering cheap Irish labor from abroad who were willing to work long, long hours, for very little pay, which is why many of the Irish ended up in Boston, New York City and the Hudson River Valley, Charleston, SC, Savannah, GA, New Orleans, and many of the cities that dot the Mississippi, including Memphis, and St. Louis. And this might come as a shocker to many people: While the vast majority of Irish immigrants were hard working and law abiding, Irish organized crime was very real and very violent.