US President Joe Biden has spoken about how his Irish ancestors left Ireland "because of what the Brits had been doing".
Speaking during the first formal press conference of his presidency in the East Room of the White House in Washington DC, President Biden was asked why there has been a surge of immigrants crossing the southern border.
Responding to the question, the 78-year-old referred to his Irish ancestry.
"When my great-grandfather got on a coffin ship in the Irish sea, the expectation was he going to live long enough to get to the United States of America," he said.
"They left because of what the Brits had been doing.
"They were in real, real trouble. They didn’t want to leave but they had no choice."
Mr Biden has often spoken of his pride in his Irish roots, which are linked to both Co Mayo and Co Louth.
In 2016, before he was President, Mr Biden brought his children and grandchildren on an official trip to Ireland to learn about their heritage.
His maternal great-great-great-grandfather Edward Blewitt grew up in the market town of Ballina, which is known for salmon fishing and for being the birthplace of Ireland's first female president, Mary Robinson.
Blewitt emigrated after the Famine of the 1840s to Biden's birthplace of Scranton, Pennsylvania, now a sister city of Ballina.
His great-great grandfather Patrick Blewitt, who was also born in Ballina, left for the US in 1850, aged 18.
He returned the following year to bring his parents and siblings across to the States, and they settled in Scranton.
On the other side of Mr Biden's family, the Finnegans moved to the US in the late 1840s, settling in Seneca, New York.
Owen Finnegan had immigrated with his wife, Jean Boyle.
Their son James married a woman called Catherine Roche.
They had six children together, including Ambrose, whose marriage to Geraldine Blewitt eventually led to the birth of the now US President, Joe Biden.
Referring to the immigration issues, Mr Biden said: "I can’t guarantee we’re going to solve everything, but I can guarantee we can make everything better."
Mr Biden was questioned about the issue after US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials apprehended more than 100,000 migrants in February, 28 per cent more than January.
The 46th US President said he would not let a child "starve to death and stay on the other side".
"I'm not going to do it. I’m not going to do it," he said.
"That’s why I asked the Vice President of United States yesterday to be the lead person on dealing with focusing on the fundamental reasons why people leave Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador in the first place.
"It’s because of earthquakes, floods. It’s because of lack of food. It’s because of gang violence.
"It’s because of a whole range of things, that when I was Vice President, had the same obligation to deal with unaccompanied children."
