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Trump agus na Gaeil - Iniúchadh TG4 Wednesday 17th December 2025

17.12.25

Promo – Trump agus na Gaeil – Iniúchadh TG4
Images – Trump agus na Gaeil – Iniúchadh TG4
 

Undocumented Irish citizens living in the United States are being advised not to return to Ireland for Christmas because of fears over President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. 

Warnings that Irish citizens could be detained or prevented from returning to the US are made in TG4’s current affairs’ programme Iniúchadh TG4 called “Trump agus na Gaeil” that will be broadcast on Wednesday 17th of December at 9.30 pm.

The programme also reveals that new figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin show that there has been a significant increase this year in the number of Irish citizens who have requested assistance in relation to deportation from the United States. 

Speaking on the programme, prominent Irish American lawyer and founding member of the Irish American Democrats, Brian O’ Dwyer, says any undocumented Irish should remain in the US and not contemplate travelling home over the festive period. 

“In the current climate, if they are undocumented, they can’t go home because they are not going to get back in. At the moment, they just have to stay low and hope this boils over. I can’t give them much better advice that that. It’s that dark, and it’s cruel. What they are doing is they are picking up people and then detaining them unnecessarily.” 
 

It is not known how many undocumented Irish there are in the United States but estimates vary anywhere between ten and fifty thousand. Most are what are termed “overstayers” – people who have remained in the country after their permission to be there legally has expired.

In the documentary, investigative journalist Kevin Magee travels to the US to investigate the plight of the undocumented Irish caught up in President Trump’s concerted campaign to deport illegal immigrants carried out by officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE. 

Up-to-date figures from ICE on the number of deportations of Irish citizens are difficult to obtain, but figures attributed to ICE show that this year between January and Sept, 99 Irish people were deported from the United States. According to ICE, this compares to 60 deportations for the previous year 2024. This is an increase of 65 per cent in a single year. Their figures show in 2023, 37 Irish were deported, 17 in 2022 and ten in 2021.

According to the most recent figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin the number of citizens who have requested consular assistance in relation to deportation from the USA so far this year is 63. This is a significant increase on last year before Donald Trump began his second term in the White House. The total number of people asking for Departmental assistance in 2024 was 15, in 2023 it was 18, eleven people sought help in 2022 and five in 2021.

The 63 people who sought help includes those who have already been deported and those who are going through the deportation process, which often includes being held in detention at immigration holding centres across the USA. According to the Department, the actual number of Irish citizens being deported or held by ICE could be higher than 63. 

“It is important to note that this figure only relates to cases where a citizen or their family has requested consular assistance and does not necessarily reflect all deportations to Ireland or where a citizen is currently being detained by ICE,” a spokesperson for the department said.
 

County Limerick native Monsignor James Kelly, 88, has been helping undocumented immigrants get permission to remain in the US since he moved to Brooklyn more than 60 years ago. Under President Trump’s current crackdown on illegal immigration, he says Irish people without the necessary documents to remain in the US are just as likely as any other illegal immigrant to be deported. 

“The Irish don’t have any privileged status anymore. They were treated very well in the past, but now they’re not treated any differently. They are just one of another group now. There are many Irish here that at the moment who are not in good standing who don’t have status.” 
 

Monsignor Kelly also advised any undocumented Irish living in the States not to travel over Christmas for fear of being apprehended, deported on denied re-entry.

“You have to be very careful that you don’t make trips to Ireland. They (the undocumented) can’t afford to go home for Christmas and not be able to come back. It is a real problem because they have jobs here, and families here so they might not be able to come back here that easily.” 
“My advice would be not to do anything. Just stay quiet. Keep quiet for the moment. Marry an American if you can. Adjust yourself that way. Get a green card. You need to get status, and the only way you can get status is by getting a green card. That will give you the first steps towards citizenship.”
 

Accurate up-to-date figures from ICE on the total number of deportations from the US are difficult to obtain, but at the end of October, the Department of Homeland Security in the US announced what it called “record-breaking statistics”. It said more than 527,000 “illegal aliens were removed under the leadership of President Donald Trump” with 600,000 deportations expected by the end of the year.

While the second Trump administration is promising a record number of deportations of illegal immigrants from the US, new figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade show that the number of applicants from the US for Irish passports this year has increased significantly. 

There were 38,376 applications made by people based in the United States for Irish passports so far this year. That compared to 31,825 last year, an increase of 21 per cent. 
 

Please find below a list of participants appearing in tomorrow night’s Trump agus na Gaeil – Iniúchadh TG4

• Brian O’Dwyer – American Irish Democrats, New York City lawyer and founder of the American Irish Democrats.
• An tAthair James Kelly – A Monsignor from Adare, Limerick, who has been based in New York for 60 years. He has an immigration centre in Brooklyn.
• An tOllamh Brian Ó Broin – William Patterson University. A native of Galway, who has taught literature and linguistics at William Patterson University, New Jersey for over 20 years.
• Siobhan Dennehy – Emerald Isle Immigration Center. A native of Dublin, she is the Director of the Emerald Isle Immigration Centre and has worked with them for over 20 years. She was awarded the Irish Echo’s Irish American of the Year for 2025.
• Mike Lawler – Congress Republican. A native of Pearl River, New York, he is a member of the United States Congress.
• Frances Mulraney – Journalist. A native of Kildare, she is Head of News for the US Sun. 
• Richard Reep – A former architect from Orlando Florida, he moved to Dundrum, Dublin, this summer with his wife, Kim, and daughter who is transgender. 
• Kim Mathis – A former teacher from Orlando Florida, she moved to Dundrum, Dublin, this summer with her husband and daughter who is transgender. 
• Domhnall Ó Catháin – Lawyer. A native of Cork, he has lived and worked in New Jersey for over 20 years. He is married with three children. 
• Seoirsín Ní Mheachair – Translator from New York.
• Máirtín Ó Muilleoir – Publisher, The Irish Echo. From Belfast, former Mayor of Belfast and Minister with Sinn Féin. He is the editor of The Irish Echo which is based in New York.
• Kevin Rawdon – Musician from Brooklyn.
• Chris Byrne – Musician from New York, co-founder of the band Black 47.
• Matthew Bray – Immigration lawyer based in New York.
• Marie Kiernan – Originally from Longford, now living in the States. She supports Trump.
• Séamus Ó Neachtain – Trump supporter from Long Island, NY.
• Éamonn Mac Giolla Bhríde – Auctioneer from Gaoth Dobhair, Co. Donegal.