There is a "legitimate fear" among Irish people living illegally in the United States that they could be targeted next by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, a Chicago priest has said.
Some within the Irish community in the city fear it is only a matter of time before ICE raids are carried out at Irish cultural events, said Fr Jerry Boland of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Glenview, Chicago.
"There is a fear, a legitimate fear, if you're not here legally of being vulnerable to being taken into custody," said Fr Boland.
More Irish citizens have sought consular assistance in relation to deportation from the United States so far this year than in the previous three years combined, the Department of Foreign Affairs has said.
A total of 45 Irish citizens or their families have requested support from the Government since the start of 2025.
That includes both those who have already been deported and those who are still going through the deportation process, which may include being detained by ICE.
There were 44 requests for consular assistance in 2022, 2023 and 2024 combined.
The figures do not reflect all Irish citizens who went through the deportation process, only those who contacted the department.
Changing US immigration policies was a central part of US President Donald Trump's election campaign.
"It's only a matter of time before the net gets wider"
More than 20 executive orders relating to immigration were signed by Mr Trump in the first week of his second term.
The Hispanic and African communities have been the initial targets of immigration officers, Fr Boland said, but some Irish people feel "we're next".
"It's only a matter of time before the net gets wider. We have an Irish heritage centre not too far from my parish and then there is a large Irish gathering spot called Gaelic Park in the south suburbs," he said.
"You take the championships, people are afraid to go to that for fear that ICE agents might show up," he added.
No Irish citizens living illegally in the US were willing to speak about their experience with immigration services.
The fear of reprisal from highlighting their case was one of the reasons given.
The Department of Foreign Affairs does not have access to figures on the number of Irish citizens in the US without a valid visa, but the number is estimated to be at least 10,000.
Irish people living illegally will not be specifically targeted, said John Foley, an immigration lawyer based in Boston, but with Mr Trump putting $180 billion towards the Department of Homeland Security, they will be "caught up in it" and that "their life will be changed in a moment" if they are arrested by ICE.
"He's going to be creating an army of at least 10,000 agents but with that amount of money, many, many more. He’s going to use it to force immigration," he said.
He added: "So we’re going to see a lot more people picked up off the street and removed from the United States.
"And with that, while he won’t specifically go after the Irish, they will in fact be caught up in it - they already have been, but we’ll see more people from Ireland returned from the United States," said Mr Foley.
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The initial target for the administration was to deport "the worst of the worst," said Director for the Border Security and Immigration Centre in the Heritage Foundation and former acting deputy chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, Lora Ries.
"The plan is to focus on getting the serious criminals out of the country, terrorists. But any type of deportable alien is on the table to be deported," she said.
An executive order named 'Project Homecoming', which encourages "illegal aliens to voluntarily depart the United States", was signed by Mr Trump in May.
It claimed to offer illegal immigrants a choice of leaving voluntarily with federal support and financial assistance or "face strict enforcement and penalties".
Self-deportation was an opportunity for those who live in the US illegally to correct the issue themselves, Ms Reis said.
"People made choices. People chose to either come here illegally or to overstay their visa, to break our laws and there needs to be consequences for it.
"People have benefitted for years but rather make demands that the US government owes them even more and should allow them to stay. Perhaps a 'thank you' and come back lawfully if that's what you want to do," she said.
