Perspective:
Tony Sheridan, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, tells Editorial Page Editor Paul Choiniere that a conversation with a president inspired him to promote a program intended to help new immigrants pursue their American dreams.
When Thomas A. Sheridan, then a 19-year-old Irish immigrant, got off a plane at the newly renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York in 1964, he could have never dreamed that he would one day have a conversation with an American president.
Starting off in the plumbing and heating business, and getting his first taste of politics as a labor leader, Sheridan would go on to obtain an undergraduate degree from Connecticut College, a Master of Arts degree from the University of New Haven, then serve as a human resource consultant to several colleges. In 1990, he won election as Waterford first selectman, serving for a decade.
Since 2004, he has served as president of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut.
A conversation with a president, “Tony” Sheridan told me, has now inspired him to give back by promoting a program intended to help new immigrants pursue their American dreams.
“I got motivated about this by President Obama,” said Sheridan.
In March 2014, Sheridan attended Obama’s visit to Central Connecticut State University in New Britain. The president was there to advocate for an increase in the federal minimum wage and support Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s effort to push Connecticut’s minimum to $10.10 an hour.
During their brief meeting, Sheridan told the president he was an immigrant. Obama, recognizing the still-present Irish brogue, responded, “You didn’t have to tell me that. We actually could be related, you know.”
Obama’s late mother, Ann Dunham, is of Irish ancestry.
Sheridan said he stressed the importance of getting immigration reform legislation passed, and Obama promised to keep working at it. Republican opposition in Congress has blocked him at every turn.
Thus inspired by the visit, Sheridan had hoped to pursue his plans of working with the chamber to create an “Immigrant Resource Center” and roll it out after passage of immigration reform. Reform proposals have consistently included the same primary elements: improved border security; a path to legal status for an estimated 11 million immigrants who came to the country illegally but are otherwise law-abiding residents; and better monitoring of those in the country on visas.
Now 71, Sheridan decided he could not keep waiting. He expects to see the resource center, which will assist enterprising immigrants open or grow a business, operating by this summer. This newspaper endorsed the effort in an April 6 editorial.
“Yes, I am going against the grain,” said Sheridan, when I pointed out that his initiative comes at a time when some presidential hopefuls are gaining political support by opposing immigration reform and characterizing some immigrants as a threat.
“It’s disgraceful to see the mood that these people are creating among certain bodies of people in this country,” Sheridan said. “I think it’s disgraceful how (Sen.) Cruz and (Donald) Trump … talk about immigrants.”
The chamber president said he was appalled when the Norwich City Council, a few days before Christmas, refused to support an initiative by the library in that city to create a “Welcoming Communities Campaign” to help immigrants integrate into the civil life of Norwich.
“The Norwich City Council embarrassed themselves,” Sheridan said.
Sheridan said his proposal has also faced some opposition.
“Some have asked, ‘What are you
going to do for us, those of us who are here?’ Well, we are going to continue doing everything we are doing for them. That’s not going to change,” he said of the chamber.
Overall, however, he said support for the resource center is strong, including the unanimous backing of the towns represented at the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments.
The immigrant story is the story of America, said Sheridan, who often attends a swearing-in ceremony for new citizens held annually by U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney.
“And when you see 50, 60, 75 people standing up there from every corner of the world, what that does is it tells a story,” he said. “It tells a story about how great this country is. But these negative people are seeing the glass half empty, instead of half full.”
It’s clear how Sheridan sees the glass and his adopted home.