No reliable figures are available regarding the numbers of Irish who may be living and or working in the United States without proper authorisation. Very rough estimates based on CSO calculations suggest that 3,000 to 4,000 of the Irish people who went to the US in each of the years 1994-95 and 1996-97 remained there illegally. However, the numbers of undocumented Irish people have fallen dramatically since the late 1980s and early 1990s because of the Morrison and Donnelly visa programmes which effectively solved the problem of the undocumented Irish in the US at that time.
While anecdotal evidence from the voluntary Irish organisations suggests a small flow of new undocumented arrivals, similarly there are indications that more people, both legal and undocumented, are returning to Ireland as a result of the economic success that the country is experiencing. CSO migration estimates confirm that, for each of the three years to April 1999, the numbers of immigrants from the US were greater than the numbers of emigrants to the US.
The embassy in Washington remains in close contact with the immigration authorities and with members of congress in the United States and keeps them informed of matters relating to the welfare of undocumented Irish people there.