Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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6. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his discussions with American officials in respect of immigration reform and, in particular, the plight of undocumented Irish citizens in the United States of America; his plans to meet with American officials in the near future to discuss this further; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48306/17]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I am sure the Minister is aware of the importance of this issue to many families across the country, and in particular to their loved ones in America. We need to keep the pressure on, particularly in light of increased difficulties arising from the stance President Trump has taken on the issue recently.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I know there are many people from the Deputy's county who are in a very vulnerable position as a result of this, as there are in mine.

The Government remains committed to achieving relief for the undocumented and to facilitating greater pathways for legal migration to the United States. Ireland’s diplomatic representatives in the US are availing of all opportunities to raise the immigration issue in their contacts with the US authorities, including the prospects for immigration reform and the situation of the undocumented, as is the Government’s special envoy to Congress on the undocumented, Deputy John Deasy.

We do not, however, underestimate the size of the challenge. This policy area has been a deeply divisive issue within the US political system for decades with pronounced disagreement, even within the same political parties, on the best way to deal with an issue which directly affects over 11 million people. The Government has consistently engaged with both parties in a bipartisan way to address our longstanding concerns and this continues to be our approach.

During my visit to New York for the UN General Assembly in September, I met representatives of the four Irish immigration centres in the region and a representative of the US-wide coalition of Irish immigration centres.

My colleague, Deputy Cannon, was also at a number of those meetings and also had a series of meetings without me.

In addition, I met with a senior State Department official, and I was able to further emphasise the Government's commitment to this issue when I travelled to Washington DC from 3 to 5 October and met, along with Deputy Deasy, senior members of the US Administration and members of Congress, including the Congressional Friends of Ireland Group. In addition, our ambassador in Washington DC, Dan Mulhall, hosted a roundtable discussion on 25 October on the issue with Irish community key stakeholders, including the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centres.

The Government remains wholly committed to working with the US authorities to resolve the plight of the undocumented Irish, while respecting the right of the United States to set its own immigration policies.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his response. The political landscape for making progress on immigration reform and achieving some improvement for the undocumented Irish and progress towards legalising their situation has become more difficult since President Trump took office. Certainly he appears to be a very difficult man to talk to and make progress with. It does emphasise, and makes all the more important, the necessity of widening our net and ensuring we continue to engage with both Houses of Congress and parliamentarians who have a genuine interest in achieving progress for the undocumented Irish and other undocumented nationalities.

We have 115,000 Irish nationals living in the United States legally. It is harder to get a quantification of the exact number of undocumented Irish but it has been estimated to be anything up to 50,000. We have all been at funerals where sons or daughters have not been there to bury their mothers and fathers because they are in the United States without the ability to come home and they have not been able to do so for many years. This is crucial for all parties. I know the Minister knows the importance of it. It is important that we re-emphasise and redouble our efforts with the Houses of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate to try to build a coalition and deal with the threats that are there at present to making progress in this regard.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We got a very warm reception on Capitol Hill on this issue. We met Paul Ryan, Nancy Pelosi, a series of Congressmen and a number of Senators who have been great friends of Ireland for many years. We have been working with Senator Billy Lawless, who is deeply involved in this issue. We are all looking to try to find ways in which we can progress this issue given the political landscape that exists at present in terms of legislative opportunities that may be coming. It is not straightforward, as the Deputy has outlined. Politics in Washington are deeply divided now and it is difficult to get bipartisan agreement on anything, never mind immigration reform. We will continue to look at this issue. Deputy John Deasy is specifically looking at it and nothing else in the context of his work in the US, and he is building contacts and friendships with people who want to help. The question is how to get it across the line in the context of the broader debates on immigration and some of the issues being dealt with on Capitol Hill at present. We will continue to prioritise it, and I am sure I will be back in Washington again in the coming months.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his response. It is important that the Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, and Deputy Deasy, who has a useful role, look at other options, and work with the committee on foreign affairs in the Oireachtas to try to ensure there is parliamentarian to parliamentarian engagement with politicians in the US and see whether there are other ways this can be done. It would be a very useful way to ensure it is kept on the political agenda and that a wider coalition is built to try to get progress on this back on track. It obviously will not happen with President Trump, but he may not always hold the level of sway he does at present. It is important that we engage and try to ensure there is a broad coalition. I know work is going on and it is important that it is broadened.

President Trump has made recent statements on halving a number of green cards issued every year. There has been talk of him punishing sanctuary cities, which have a very good relationship with undocumented Irish and other undocumented people, by withholding public grants. These are very concerning. We do not have power over it, but all we can do is work on a united front, which I know will be the Minister's approach. I encourage him to look at other options to try to redouble and continue the efforts which I know have been made. It is difficult, but we owe it to the undocumented Irish and their families in our country to do everything we can to try to regularise their situation.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We are probably all on the same page. There are Irish people living in the US who are literally living in the shadows. They are much more concerned and feel a lot more vulnerable and exposed than they have in the past. This is a big issue. We are trying to think imaginatively as to how we can progress it with the current Administration but that is not straightforward. We would not have asked Deputy John Deasy to do the job he is doing at present if we did not think he could make some progress. I am happy to talk to people about how we are doing and what we are doing, but I would not like to raise expectations. This is not straightforward and it is not easy given the current political environment in Washington, but it is something that is at the top of the priority list for us in the context of the Ireland-US relationship and we will continue to try to progress it.