St. Patrick's Day in the USA

The Taoiseach is being urged to raise the plight of undocumented Irish living in the United States when the country’s leader travels to Washington for St Patrick’s Day.

Micheál Martin has been asked to use his forthcoming engagements - including any meeting with US President Donald Trump - to formally highlight urgent concerns facing Irish citizens residing in America without visas.

The issue was raised by Independent councillor Brendan Fay, who lived and worked in the US for many years, during the March meeting of Cavan County Council (March 9), amid ongoing immigration enforcement operations being carried out by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Cllr Fay urged the Irish Government to advocate for the “fair and humane” treatment of undocumented Irish citizens living across the Atlantic and to push for comprehensive immigration reform - including a pathway to legal status for long-settled persons and families.

The last major US “visa amnesty” was introduced in June 2024 and focused on undocumented spouses of US citizens.

Cllr Fay said the Irish Government should therefore seek assurances that undocumented Irish people with “deep community ties” in the US are “treated with dignity” and afforded “due process”.

The Belturbet representative also called on the council to lobby the Government to intensify diplomatic efforts to secure long-term visa solutions for Irish citizens, including the possible expansion of E-3 style visa arrangements or similar bilateral agreements.

Addressing fellow councillors, he said “generations” of Irish people had “contributed enormously” to American society, culture and economic life.

Many undocumented Irish, he noted, have lived in the United States for decades - raising families, working and “contributing to their communities”.

But increased immigration enforcement activity has created what he described as “deep anxiety” among Irish communities, with particular fears that families could be “targeted” while attending St Patrick’s Day parades.

“The Government has a duty to advocate for Irish citizens overseas, particularly those who may be vulnerable,” he said, adding that many people are “terrified”.

His motion was supported by Cllrs Niall Smith, Clifford Kelly and Patricia Walsh.

However, Cathaoirleach John Paul Feeley, who is travelling to New York City and Boston for St Patrick’s Day, pointed out that, technically, undocumented Irish living in America are “illegal immigrants”. He questioned why they should be treated differently to other nationalities.

Cllr Feeley will take part in a series of official traditional engagements alongside Chief Executive Eoin Doyle and Director of Services Paddy Connaughton. He said his family, like many others, had a loved one living in the US at some stage without regularised status, and he could not understand how and why people had failed to engage when opportunities to apply for visas arose over the years.

He went on to say that many Irish in the US had voted for the current POTUS, and questioned why people who might support deportations from Ireland still expected preferential treatment for Irish residing elsewhere.

Cllr Feeley also stated he knew personally of two cases where US citizens had been refused citizenship in Ireland because their lineage did not connect to the country, and concluded his remarks by asking whether, if a “similar” motion was proposed by a foreign country about people living illegally in Ireland, would there be the same level of “support”.