A group of prominent Irish-Americans has written to the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the British Prime Minister Theresa May expressing alarm over the future of the Good Friday Agreement.
The group includes former members of Congress, former US Ambassadors to Ireland and the leaders of prominent Irish-American organisations.
The co-chair of the group, former Congressman James Walsh said: "The recent decision by the Prime Minister and the Parliament to seek to re-open the withdrawal agreement and find an alternative to the backstop has put the Good Friday Agreement into play. This alarms us."
He added that the Good Friday agreement cannot be used as a bargaining chip while Brexit advocates search for an alternative arrangement.
The letter was signed by well-known figures such as the former Congressman Bruce Morrison, the most recent US Ambassador to Ireland Kevin O'Malley, hotelier John Fitzpatrick, former US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland Gary Hart, former Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe and former Governor of Maryland Martin O'Malley.
The letter comes ahead of a visit to Washington DC tomorrow by the Tánaiste Simon Coveney
He will meet with senior officials and members of the US Congress to discuss Northern Ireland and Brexit.
Last week, a resolution was introduced in the US House of Representatives opposing the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Irish-American Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle was behind the motion and said that now was the time for the US Congress to make it clear that it stands in strong opposition to a hard border.
