Irish immigrants in US: 'There is more of a fear element now'

About 20 minutes from the White House, Chris Devenny and Michael McMahon are overseeing a steady trade on a Tuesday afternoon at the Celtic House, an Irish bar and restaurant in the suburbs of Washington DC.

A dozen or so punters are being served pints of stout and lager by young women from Ireland who, like general manager Chris and managing director Michael, are living the American dream.

But the pair fear the route to permanent residency - and eventually citizenship - will not always be open to young people like it was to them.

Chris and Michael are both United States citizens. But for at least a while, they both lived there illegally.

They say the policies and rhetoric of President Donald Trump since his second term began in January are hanging over many Irish-Americans and not just those who are in the US illegally.

Trump has pledged “mass deportations” of people who are in the US illegally and his term began with immigration raids, a halt on the processing of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants and executive orders aimed at expanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) ability to arrest and detain unlawful migrants.

"It used to be if you had a green card [permanent residency] you felt safe and you felt secure," says Chris, who is originally from Londonderry and first came to the US on a J-1 exchange visitor visa during the Obama years.

"Obviously within limits, you had to abide with the law, but I became a citizen in December because that safety net is going to be taken away.

"You could do something small or something stupid and it would all be taken away from you.

"There is more of a fear element now.

"If you come to America are you going to be able to make it and stay or are you going to be shipped back home?"

Green cards allow people to live and work permanently in the US and, in most cases, their holders can apply for citizenship after five years.

President Trump's policies have focused on undocumented migrants rather than green card holders.

But views from the Trump administration regarding illegal and undocumented migrants means many feel less secure in the US with a green card than in previous years.

Michael first came to the US in 1987 on a holiday visa and was then in the country illegally before managing to gain permanent residency within 18 months.

"The mood then was totally different," he says.

"There is a big element of fear with people - going back a few years ago you'd have students coming over here working.

"The process is getting very difficult to do that now and then you say 'is it worth it?'

"Trying to get people over here on a visa and then trying to keep them here is difficult."

Like Chris, Michael says there is a feeling that simply having permanent residency status is no longer the security it once was.

When asked what he would say to those who disagree with people being in the US illegally, Chris says: "It's a tough one, if you're coming here and you're going to be illegal - or anywhere in the world - there's going to be a risk."

Immigration raids have stepped up since President Trump returned to office, while the US government has repurposed a mobile application - originally created to facilitate asylum appointments - into a way for undocumented migrants already in the US to "self-deport".

During his election campaign, Trump said he wanted to make US borders "strong and powerful" and in 2024 he told Time magazine illegal migration was "not a sustainable problem for our country".

Democratic Party politicians have criticised the policies.

One representative, Adriana Espaillat, described raids in January as "unwarranted" and said they had "not only targeted hardworking individuals but, alarmingly, have also wrongfully targeted U.S. citizens and veterans".

Chicago-based immigration lawyer Fiona McEntee says she has seen a noticeable change in the atmosphere among immigrants, including Irish-Americans since before Trump's inauguration.

"You could just feel the anxiety in the immigrant community bubbling up and starting to rise," she says.

"It definitely has resulted in a huge amount of fear in the community."

She says there has been an impact on the broader Irish-American community beyond first-generation immigrants.

"Some people have empathy for what other people might be going through, those who for example might end up in ICE custody,“ Ms McEntee said.

"But it actually permeates down through different types of immigrants.

"For example, naturalised US citizens have expressed concerns and I know that we've received some calls from people who were concerned."

The number of undocumented Irish citizens in the US is difficult to establish, for obvious reasons.

In recent years, a figure of about 10,000 has often been quoted.

That is a tiny proportion of the estimated 11 million undocumented residents who were believed to be living in the US in 2022.

Ms McEntee says the majority of undocumented people are "working, contributing to society and paying taxes" and "are not criminals".

Supporters of the Trump administration's policies, on the other hand, say illegal immigrants and the undocumented have broken the rules.

The president has described the passage of migrants across the southern border with Mexico as an ”invasion”.

The White House points to his comments in 2018 during his first term in office when he said illegal immigration ”affects the lives of all Americans”.

“Illegal immigration hurts American workers; burdens American taxpayers; and undermines public safety; and places enormous strain on local schools, hospitals, and communities in general, taking precious resources away from the poorest Americans who need them most,” Trump has said.

The Irish-American community is large - with more than 31 million people claiming Irish descent.

Many voted for Trump in November - in fact the president recently declared March Irish-American Heritage Month, saying the Irish were "great people" who voted for him "in heavy numbers".

Susan Davis, president of Irish American Republicans, says while many people have strong views on illegal immigration, the issue of undocumented Irish immigrants simply did not matter to many Irish-American voters.

"There are parts of the US where it is more of an issue because there are many more undocumented Irish who have come over and so the Irish-American community there would be way more supportive of them.

"To be quite honest in the midwest or in the south for example it is less of an issue.

"People don't think about undocumented Irish, they think about other cultures, other nationalities.

"It is not on the radar, except in certain areas where people are getting caught."