A group advocating migrant rights is calling on the Government to regularise undocumented migrants in Ireland.
It follows Taoiseach Enda Kenny writing to US President Barrack Obama highlighting the "tremendous human cost" for the illegal Irish immigrants in the United States "arising from the inability to travel back to Ireland".
The Migrant Rights Centre has published a report that estimated the number of undocumented migrants in Ireland at between 20,000 and 26,000.
The report offered a snapshot into how many illegal migrants are living and working in Ireland.
Of the 540 migrants surveyed, 20% have been in Ireland for more than ten years, and 81% have been in the country more than five.
While the figure of up to 26,000 is disputed by the Department of Justice, the Migrant Rights Centre is calling on the Government to introduce a regularisation scheme to bring these people into the system.
The department has ruled out such a scheme, saying widespread regularisation programmes are generally problematic.
But in a statement, it said cases of undocumented people in Ireland will be considered on their merits by officials in the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service.
