These are "critical times" for the undocumented Irish living in the United States, a lobbying group for Irish immigrants has said today.
Speaking to ireland.comthis afternoon, the chairman of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR), Niall O'Dowd said that current US immigration laws were making it difficult for undocumented Irish people to come home without running the risk of being prohibited from returning to the US.
The White House has floated proposals which will see fines as high as $10,000 (€7,500) being imposed on undocumented Irish people living in the States. They may also face deportation before being eligible for legal status in the States.
Families of the undocumented Irish in the US will speak out at an ILIR public meeting tomorrow in Dublin. "We have had repeated requests from parents and families to get involved so now we will certainly try and do so," said Mr O'Dowd who will also adress the meeting.
Earlier today the Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern announced an additional $50,000 (€37,000) contribution to the ILIR, bringing the overall contribution since December 2005 to $133,000 (€99,000).
Mr O'Dowd said he was very happy with the funding and said the contribution was "much appreciated as is the support of the Irish government."
There are an estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish people living in the US.