No need to fear stricter US immigration policies, Taoiseach tells undocumented Irish

Exclusive: Simon Harris has pledged to work with the next US president to regularise the status of undocumented Irish people

Undocumented Irish people living in the US should not fear strict immigration policies brought in by the next US president, Taoiseach Simon Harris has said.

Republican nominee Donald Trump pledged to pursue extreme anti-immigrant policies if he wins a second term through border enforcement, mass deportations and travel bans. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris instead plans to reform the asylum system and enforce border security.

But she also promised to create a pathway to citizenship for “hardworking immigrants who have been here for years” and 'dreamers', the undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children. An estimated 15,000 undocumented Irish immigrants live in the US.

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Taoiseach Simon Harris, who is set to meet Joe Biden at the White House next month, said he thinks there is a special case to be made for undocumented Irish immigrants in the US. Mr Harris pledged to work with the next US president to formalise the status of undocumented Irish people.

Speaking to the Irish Mirror from New York, he said: “In fairness to politicians across the political divide in the United States, I think there's been a real recognition of the specific situation that does relate to Irish people who've lived in this country for many, many years and contributed hugely to the country.

“I'm conscious we're in a state now where I think there's only two million people who claim Irish ancestry. So the Irish government will continue to work with whichever administration is in place to try to regularise that situation.

“I don't think the United States is in any way unique in terms of migration being a major political issue. We're seeing this across the European Union too. The scale of crises that are taking place in the world now has obviously resulted in huge levels of migration. I think every political system is trying to work to put the right structures in place.

“But I do think there's a really good understanding of the fact that there is a particular case around people from Ireland who've lived here for very many years and how you regularise that.”

He added: “I'm also in politics long enough to know that I don't think there's going to be any real substantive further discussion of that to post the November presidential election and congressional election.”

Harris will likely discuss undocumented Irish immigrants with Biden, a proud Irish American, during next month’s visit to the White House. The visit will mark the centenary of bilateral diplomatic relations between Ireland and the US, which was the first country to recognise Ireland’s place among the nations of the world.

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