Immigration is very unpopular in US politics today - but it wasn't always the case.
Back in 1990, Democratic and Republican members of Congress got together to write a landmark Immigration Act - a sweeping reform of the system that opened up multiple pathways to legal immigration.
One of them became known as the "Morrison Visa," named after Connecticut Congressman Bruce Morrison, one of the authors of the legislation.
Under the scheme, which ran from 1992-1995, some 45,000 Irish people from all 32 counties went to the US to live and work and eventually become US citizens.
Tonight, dozens from that generation of visa recipients will gather at a gala dinner at New York’s iconic Rockefeller Centre to celebrate Mr Morrison’s legacy.
The event has been organised by the Morrison Legacy Foundation, which has also gathered stories of many of the Morrison Visa holders to feature on their website.
"The Morrison Visa was more than just paperwork," wrote Brian D of Co Kildare, "it was the key that opened the door to everything that followed".
Tony Reilly from Dublin wrote that moving to the US transformed "his life in every possible way".
Making a career in finance, he founded two companies, a charitable foundation and a women’s soccer scholarship.
"I received my Morrison Visa in June of 1993," wrote Maria Maloney.
"At the time, I was living in Clonmel, Co Tipperary," she wrote, "work in Ireland was scarce, wages were low ... I knew I needed something different, a new start".
"Without question, I would not be where I am today without the Morrison Visa," she wrote, adding "it gave me a future".
Another, Helen Nolan, served in the US military, trained as a nurse, eventually becoming a first responder on 9/11.
"The Morrison Visa gave me a chance at life," she wrote, "it saved me [and] gave me the freedom to leave behind a bleak past, the tools to overcome trauma, and the opportunity to raise a remarkable son".
The celebration of Bruce Morrison’s legacy is a "powerful reminder that immigrants bring far more than they take," said Fiona McEntee, founding partner at Chicago-based McEntee Law Group.
"At a time when anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies are on the rise, not just here in the US but around the world, we need to remember the countless contributions that flow from immigration opportunities like this," she said.
Reflecting on his own legacy ahead of tonight’s celebrations, former Congressman Morrison said: "Immigration is not charity".
"We didn't award the visas for the good of the Irish, we did it for the good of America".
