merrion street

Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, Mr Joe McHugh, TD held meetings with leading Irish American figures today to discuss the situation of undocumented Irish citizens residing in the United States.

Minister McHugh met Congressman Brendan F. Boyle and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney in Washington DC. It follows recent meetings with representatives of Irish immigration centres while in Philadelphia and New York for St Patrick’s Day-related engagements. Those meetings also included contacts with the wider Irish community, including undocumented Irish citizens.

Following today’s meetings, Minister McHugh stated: ‘Engaging with both Democrats and Republicans is crucial in fostering support for immigration reform on a bipartisan basis. I was pleased to have fruitful discussions with both OMB Director Mick Mulvaney and Congressman Boyle on our undocumented citizens and the prospects for immigration reform in the US.’

Note for Editors
There are an estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish living in the United States.
The Government continues to support organisations that deliver frontline advisory services and community care to Irish emigrants through the Emigrant Support Programme. More than 70% of the funds allocated through this programme are directed towards welfare services, including in support of Irish community welfare organisations in the U.S. In the last funding round for the Emigrant Support Programme, organisations in the U.S were allocated more than €2.3 million in funding.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/about
https://boyle.house.gov/about