“If you’ve come a’seeking justice, no Irish need apply:”1 Irish Republicans, political asylum, and United States foreign policy

Abstract

For over a century, Irish Republicans have sought and found legal refuge in the United States. Such individuals were rarely targeted by immigration policies for previous politically-motivated offences nor were U.S. extradition warrants granted. More recently, however, several Irish Republicans have faced prosecution, extradition, or deportation from the United States. This essay highlights the complex, relationship between the legal formalism of those proceedings and broader political considerations related to the requirements of the ‘special relationship’ between the U.S. and British governments. Despite an 18-month IRA cease-fire and the U.S. interest in promoting the peace process, the executive branch of the United States failed to provide any concessions in these legal proceedings that might have been beneficial to the peace process.