President Barack Obama mentioned the Irish undocumented in his home state of Illinois during his speech in as Las Vegas on Friday afternoon. He also mentioned Irish fleeing the Great Hunger

He stated immigration was “not just a Latino issue – this is an American issue”.

“I am from Chicago – we’ve got some Irish immigrants whose papers are not in order; we’ve got some Polish immigrants whose papers are not in order; we’ve got some Ukrainian folks,” he said.

Obama also stated:

“The Irish who left behind a land of famine. The Germans who fled persecution. The Scandinavians who arrived eager to pioneer out west. The Polish. The Russians. The Italians. The Chinese. The Japanese. The West Indians. The huddled masses who came through Ellis Island on one coast and Angel Island on the other. All those folks, before they were “us,” they were “them.”

Watch the full speech here: