The former US Vice President Joe Biden has voiced his support for protecting the Good Friday Agreement and avoiding a return to a hard border after Brexit.
Mr Biden, who is currently running for the Democratic nomination ahead of next year's US Presidential election, was speaking at a campaign event in South Carolina last night.
He was asked by Irish student journalist Fergus O'Rourke how he would protect the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement.
Joe Biden said he cared a great deal about it and would continue to put pressure on Britain to ensure there is no return to a hard border after Brexit.
He said he has made it clear in the past that he doesn't support "breaking down" what is currently in place.
"We don't want a guarded border again. We don't want to do it," Mr Biden said.
Last month, the Foreign Affairs Committee in the US House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming support for the Good Friday Agreement.
The bill will advance to the full House for a vote at a future date.
The bipartisan resolution is co-sponsored by Democratic Congressman Thomas Suozzi and Republican Congressman Peter King and urges the UK and the EU to ensure that Brexit does not threaten peace on the island of Ireland.
The resolution strongly opposes the reintroduction of a hard border and insists that any trade agreements between the US and the UK are contingent on meeting the Good Friday Agreement's obligations.
A similar resolution opposing the return of a hard border was introduced in the US House of Representatives in January.
Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle was behind the move, saying that now was the time for the US Congress to make it clear that it stands in strong opposition to a hard border.
A number of senior members of the US Congress have warned that they will oppose any US-UK trade deal that undermines the Good Friday Agreement.
Those who have voiced their opposition include the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Congressman Richard Neal.
