The Minister of State for the Diaspora is on a visit to the United States reassuring Irish community groups that the Government will continue to fight for immigration reform under the new Trump administration.
Joe McHugh will meet Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, a Democrat, and the Republican Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker later today.
A spokesperson said the junior minister had been meeting Irish community organisations and reassuring immigrants that immigration reform is something the Government will continue to lobby for.
He is the second Irish minister to visit the US since Donald Trump's election as president, following the visit of Minister for Finance Michael Noonan to Washington DC and California this week.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny was among the first world leaders to speak by telephone to President-elect Trump, who assured Mr Kenny that the traditional invitation to celebrate St Patrick's Day in the White House would continue.
Mr Trump has repeatedly pledged that he will deport illegal immigrants once he takes office.
He tempered those remarks in an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes programme at the weekend, saying he would initially focus on deporting those who had been convicted of crimes while in the US first, and then focus on the others after that.
There are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the US, including approximately 50,000 Irish people.
Irish immigration groups in the US have also been trying to calm fears in the wake of Mr Trump's election.
Ciaran Staunton of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform said they were "concerned" about the President-elect's statements, but he urged people to "not make any rash decisions or live in fear of a knock on the door", adding that activists and campaigners would "keep a close eye on events as they progress in Washington".
