Ahern to discuss illegal Irish with US congressmen

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern is due to discuss the situation of illegal Irish immigrants in the United States with a number of US congressmen today.

Jim Walsh, Tim Murphy and Brian Higgins are due to hold talks with Mr Ahern in Carlingford, Co Louth, to discuss the estimated 50,000 Irish people who live in the US without any documentation.

Irish politicians have been campaigning for measures to ease the plights of these immigrants, particularly with regard to the fact that they risk not being allowed to return to the US if they ever visit relatives in Ireland.