Irish people living in the United States are increasingly being affected by stricter immigration enforcement, according to Boston-based immigration lawyer John Foley.
Speaking on The Anton Savage Show, Foley said recent reports showing a rise in deportations of undocumented Irish nationals reflect a wider escalation in immigration controls.
“They’re not specifically going after the Irish,” he said.
“The Irish are just caught up.”
Foley said the Trump administration was increasing immigration enforcement across the board.
“It’s just unprecedented,” he said.
“We have military on the streets. We have US military soldiers on the streets of the United States Capitol. It’s just absolutely disgusting.”
New background checks
He also addressed proposals that would require visa applicants to submit extensive social media histories as part of the immigration process.
“They’ll be using AI, artificial intelligence, and they’ll come up with a quick and dirty screening process,” Foley said.
“Submitting five and a half, in some cases 10 years, of social media details, along with information about your parents, your siblings and your work history, it’s going to take time.”
The lawyer warned that applicants would be required to keep their social media accounts accessible.
“You have to keep your social media open so it can be searched,” he said.
He argued that the measures would have consequences for travel and tourism.
“It’ll create additional delays and ultimately it’ll mean less travel and less business for the tourism industry both in the US and in Ireland,” Foley said.
When asked if economic consequences might prompt a change, Foley said common sense simply doesn’t apply to the current administration.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)“You’re applying common sense, and that’s the mistake,” he said.
“You can’t apply common sense to this administration.”
The rise of deportation
Foley said many of those being deported had committed no crimes.
“When he says he’s going to get rid of criminals, that’s not what’s happening,” he said.
“The people that are being removed from the country, deported, many of them have no crimes at all. They just have visa overstays.”
“We just had an Irish gentleman, and he spent about seven weeks in a prison in Louisiana,” Foley said.
“He was in a prison cell with 40 other men.”
Looking ahead, Foley warned that enforcement would intensify more.
“This is going to get worse before it gets better,” he said.
“ICE has plenty of money. They have billions of dollars. They’re going to build more facilities. More people are going to be removed from the United States.”
Written by Annemarie Roberts
