Increase In US Citizens Seeking Asylum In Ireland
Image via @potus
Increase In US Citizens Seeking Asylum In Ireland
Text: Izzy Copestake
To be granted asylum, applicants must prove a “well-founded fear of persecution” due to factors like political opinion, race, or group membership.
An unprecedented number of U.S. citizens are fleeing to Ireland for asylum. Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House at the beginning of 2025, 76 Americans have applied for asylum in Ireland, more than triple the 22 who applied in all of 2024. That number had already increased from 2023 (18) and 2022 (13), according to new figures from Ireland’s Department of Justice.
To be granted asylum, applicants must prove a “well-founded fear of persecution” due to factors like political opinion, race, or group membership, criteria rarely associated with U.S. citizens until recently.
Now, more and more Americans are starting to feel unsafe in their own country, especially if they’re LGBTQ+, people of color, or politically outspoken. Since Trump’s return to power, states have passed laws banning gender-affirming care, with some threatening parents and doctors with jail time. Abortion is now outlawed in large parts of the country, and women have been investigated for miscarriages.
Irish passport applications from the U.S. have surged, hitting 31,825 in 2024, the highest since Trump’s first election win in 2016. In 2025 so far, over 26,000 applications have been filed, outpacing all of 2022.
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