Una's son left for the US on a holiday 10 years ago and hasn't been back to Co Mayo since.
"He went on a return ticket and never came home, because he can't come home. He loves America and the American way of life and he doesn't want to lose it," says Una, who asked that her surname not be used in case her son was identified.
"He can't come home to his father, or even his nephews and nieces. Now my husband and I find ourselves asking what will happen if we die or fall seriously ill." Una says he broached the subject last time they talked on the phone. "I told him not to come home. It's not worth it. I told him to say a prayer and remember us how we are."
She says her son and other Irish "undocu-
mented" should be judged "on merit, not by some category [ as an illegal]. He works hard and pays his taxes.
He contributes to his new home and is a good citizen. That should count for something." She travels over yearly to see him in the US but her husband hasn't, because he doesn't like to fly.
Danny Toma, chief consul at the US embassy in Dublin, said he was often asked why his country couldn't "turn a blind eye" to people in Una's son's position. However, legally, they couldn't. Anyone found to have been in the US illegally after 1997 faced a ban on re-entry varying between three and 10 years, according to immigration rules.
However, the situation wasn't "100 per cent bleak," he said.
Those who had been in the US illegally before this time and who were now in Ireland could qualify for a visa "provided they are upfront with us".
Mr Toma said he couldn't see a lot of hope for new proposals to grant an amnesty to Irish illegals.