Number of US citizens seeking asylum in Ireland rises to over 50 in first half of year
Ken Foxe
There has been a steep rise in the number of citizens of the United States seeking asylum in Ireland.
51 people from the US applied for international protection in the first half of this year, more than in 2023 and 2024 combined.
New figures from the Department of Justice show that 104 American citizens have sought asylum in Ireland since the beginning of 2022.
In 2022, there were 13 total applications, and in 2023, that rose to 18.
During the course of last year, there were 22 applications for international protection from citizens of the United States.
However, the figures have risen sharply since President Donald Trump won a second term in the White House, even as overall application numbers have dropped.
Between January and March of this year, there were 24 asylum claims from US citizens, more than in the entirety of 2024.
From April to June, a further 27 Americans sought international protection, according to data that was released under Freedom of Information laws.
In the same period, there has been a sharp drop in the overall number of applications being made in Ireland.
During 2024, there were 18,561 total applications made for international protection, more than 1,500 per month.
One in five of these were made by people from Nigeria, with Jordan making up 15.5 per cent of that year’s claims.
Other countries from which there were a large number of applications included Pakistan, Somalia, and Bangladesh.
This year, the total figure by the end of July was 7,208, just over 1,000 a month.
The Department of Justice has attributed the fall in claims to an increased number of deportations and sped up processing of claims.
Several countries have also been designated as “safe,” which means that asylum claims can be accelerated.
Immigration sources said that any individual seeking international protection from the United States was likely to face an uphill battle.
A source said: “The number of claims from the US is small in terms of the volume of applications being made overall.
“However, an American citizen – like any other applicant – would have to prove they came here to escape harm and demonstrate a well-founded fear for their safety if they returned.”
