Irish under Trump: ‘The undocumented are holding their breath’

Four years ago Matt Costello, then living in New York, was on the horns of a dilemma. He was in a serious relationship with Jacquelyn Rawlings, a fashion executive from Florida.

However, his visa to stay in the United States was to expire soon and he wanted to return to Ireland and go back to college. Jacquelyn, however, had other ideas: "I said we could get married," she says.

“Matt of course brushed it off, but I looked at him and said, ‘marry me’. And it was real and he said ‘yes’. It was a big surprise for both our parents as no one had met anyone yet, but when you know, you know,” she adds.

They had a city hall wedding in New York, joined by all of their friends and families – a fairy-tale ending that also happily brought an end to Costelloe’s immigration concerns.

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From Limerick, the 30-year-old moved to New York in 2011, on a J1 visa. Today, he is a flooring contractor, specialising in high-quality polished concrete floors popular in Manhattan buildings.

President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus had begun to kick in by the time Costelloe arrived in New York. Tax breaks had encouraged foreign property developers to invest. Most of Costelloe’s early clients were Russian and Asian.

Today, there are 50,000 undocumented Irish, who are now concerned about the effect that Donald Trump’s immigration rhetoric and actions will have on their lives.

“[The Irish] are not a big part of the picture, but at the same time our people will have to share the same fate as everyone else. It is no longer politically tenable to expect any kind of special deal,” says Costelloe.

“The immigration issue has become too politically volatile for any side deals to be met with anything less than fury from those left out,” he says. “There will be winners and losers. The undocumented are holding their breath.”

Irish people make up a tiny share of the 11 million undocumented, says Costelloe, who has a green card, but not a vote. He would have voted for Bernie Sanders in November had he been entitled.

“If you were to take the undocumented out of the New York economy the place would collapse. It would be interesting to see what effect a one-day strike [of undocumented workers] would have on the city, the place would grind to a halt,” he says.

Record deportations

Trump’s attitude to illegal immigration has prompted alarm. However, there were a record 2.5 million people deported during Obama’s tenure.

Moreover, Obama's legacy could now affect many more. He piloted legislation that gave people who came to US as minors, or those who had had children during their years as illegal immigrants, a path to citizenship. However, the law was knocked down by courts in Texas and went to the US supreme court for a final ruling. There, the country's highest justices last year split equally when they heard the case, which means the ruling in Texas stands.

“I remember the weeks running up to the supreme court case. It was all anyone was talking about on the building sites. I think the Hispanic population was devastated by that decision and a lot of people had come forward and given their names to the government to start process.

“Their names are on a government list now of illegals with Trump coming in to power. I wouldn’t like my name on that list,” says Costelloe.

Questioned about his hopes for the next four years, Costelloe says: “I don’t think Trump will be able to bulldoze through things, the framers put in checks and balances to prevent that. Barring a huge foreign policy catastrophe which changes everything the congress will keep it steady as she goes.”