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(Seo alt ónár bhfoireann Gaeltachta. Is féidir an bunleagan as Gaeilge a léamh here)
ILLEGAL IRISH IMMIGRANTS in the US are being advised not to travel home for Christmas as they may not be able to get back in due to Donald Trump’s anti-immigration crackdown.
Irish American lawyer Brian O’Dwyer told tonight’s edition of Iniúchadh TG4 programme – Trump agus na Gaeil – he was advising people not to travel home for Christmas without the proper documentation.
“As things stand, if they don’t have the documentation, they can’t go home because they won’t be allowed back in,” said O’Dwyer, who is also a founder member of Irish American Democrats.
The situation is so harsh, and so cruel. They’re arresting people and then detaining them unnecessarily.
The number of Irish people arrested in the US without legal documents by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has had its resources and remit significantly enhanced by Donald Trump since the start of his second presidential term, has increased by 65% in the first nine months of 2025 compared to 2024.
While the number of people involved is small compared to other ethnic groups in the United States (US), the deportation of 99 Irish people between January and September is a significant increase in percentage terms.
It’s up from 60 people in 2024, 37 in 2023, 17 in 2022 and 10 in 2021.
These are the facts revealed in a latest edition of TG4′s award-winning series, presented and produced by investigative journalist Kevin Magee, a film which provides an insight into the changing atmosphere that has occurred in the US since Donald Trump was inaugurated in the White House in January.
A total of 600,000 people of all nationalities are expected to be deported from the US by the end of the year due to ICE policies.
According to the latest figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin provided to the documentary, 63 people have requested consular assistance since the beginning of the year in relation to their deportation from the United States.
The total number of people who requested assistance from the Department in 2024 was 15, compared to 18 in 2023, eleven in 2022 and five in 2021. The Department of Foreign Affairs statement suggested the actual number of Irish citizens deported or detained by ICE may be higher than 63.
“It should be noted that this figure only includes cases where a citizen, or a family member of that citizen, has requested consular assistance and does not necessarily include all cases where a deportation to Ireland has occurred or where a citizen is currently in ICE custody,” a department spokesperson said.
Limerick native Monsignor James Kelly has been helping undocumented immigrants gain permission to remain in the United States since he first came to Brooklyn more than 60 years ago.
Under President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, he says an Irish person who does not have the necessary documents is currently as likely to be deported as any other illegal immigrant.
“An Irishman has no better status than anyone else. There was a time when they were treated favorably, but they have no such advantage now. They are now just one of a group like any other group. There are many Irishmen here at the moment who have no place to live, who have no legal status.”
Monsignor Kelly also advises anyone without proper documentation living in the United States not to travel to Ireland over Christmas for fear of being arrested, deported or not being allowed back in.
“People (without proper documentation) cannot go home for Christmas if they hope to come back again. That would be a big problem if there is a job here, and a family, and they cannot come back easily.
My advice would be to not panic. Stay calm. Stay very calm for now. Marry an American if possible. Change things that way. Get a green card.
“You need the right status, and the green card is the only way to have the right status. You have taken the first steps to citizenship.”
The programme makers said it was difficult to get an accurate and timely report from ICE on the total number of people being deported from the United States, but the Department of Homeland Security announced figures in October that were cited as “record-breaking statistics.”
It was stated that 527,000 “illegal aliens” had been removed “under the leadership of President Donald Trump” and that 600,000 were expected to be deported by the end of the year.
At the same time that ICE is carrying out this intensive anti-immigrant campaign, the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that there has been a significant increase in the number of applications for Irish passports made by people living in the US, up 21% from 31,825 last year to 38,376 so far this year.
Among the most notable people to have come to live in Ireland since Donald Trump moved back to the White House is the television star and comedian, Rosie O’Donnell.
The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
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