How many illegal Irish were there in the US? The figures used in 1987 ranged from 25,000 to 60,000 to 100,000 to 250,000.24 Figures from the US Immigration and Naturalization Service in June 1987 showed that an astounding 500,000 Irish people had entered the US on tourist visas since 1981. Nobody was quite sure how many had left again.
