The Irish Times this week spoke to Irish people living legally in the US about life as an immigrant. Lately, Fintan* feels “paranoid and powerless” about the possibility of being arrested every time he drives to his tech job or visits his girlfriend. His daily life involves checking the crowdsourced Ice raids map. He feels living illegally can be a “bad start”, with people evading tax or making false statements on forms. US citizen Nuala Carpenter says her “heart breaks” for immigrants caught in Ice raids, especially those from South America.

Source: The Irish Times February 22, 2026 12:00 UTC