As the final day of voting in the American presidential election approaches, Irish people in America speak about the issues that matter to them.

On a special election episode of The Hard Shoulder, coming to listeners live from the Fitzpatrick Manhattan Hotel in New York City throughout the week, Kieran Cuddihy was joined by a panel of Irish in America.

New York Irish Centre Executive Director George Heslin, 150 Bond Global Head of Operations and Events Amy Brett and Irish Actress in New York Sarah Street spoke about the lead up to the election in their lives and the issues that are important to them as immigrants.

For George Heslin, immigration is one of the most important issues.

“I think the tapestry of America is so extraordinary in terms of the immigrant communities,” he said.

“The Irish Centre is located in Queens, and one of our neighbourhoods is called Jackson Heights, and within Jackson Heights, within six square miles, there's 150 languages spoken in the school system alone.

“America is an amazing, diverse place full of opportunity.

“And in terms of the Irish community, you know, I suppose what we have to remind ourselves is we, too, are immigrants.”

'We're all here together'

Mr Heslin said he is surprised daily that Irish people “forget they are immigrants”.

“America is a country that's built in immigration and migration, and the Irish were foremost in those journeys,” he said.

“I just think it's important that Irish people remember in the next 24 hours that we are the immigrants.

“We are the immigrants that people completely certainly, at the moment, the conversation seems very anti-immigrant, and I feel very, very much part of that conversation as an individual, we're all here together.

“No matter what country we're from, we're here together.”

Mr Heslin said he is “very proud” to hold two passports, saying he has cast his vote in the presidential election already.

Invested

Amy Brett said she thinks her colleagues in the Dublin 150 bond office are “as invested” in the election as the New York office is.

“I personally would like to see Kamala get in, and I think that it's going to be a lot tighter than we had might originally thought maybe a year ago,” she said.

“I think when Trump first won, and at the time, I had been working in a bar, there had been no talk about him whatsoever.

“And the day he won, my bar was absolutely packed, people celebrating, and I couldn't get over like where they had come from.

“Whereas I think this time, they're a lot more vocal in their support of him.

“I've even seen Trump flags… which just didn't exist the last time he ran.

“I think people are more, are braver to say, ‘Oh yeah, I do support Trump,’ when he's such a interesting character.”

'Minds are made up'

Sarah Street said she thinks people are voting for Trump because of the things he says and despite the things he has said.

“I said something last time that in 2015 there were so many things that he said and that he did that I thought, well, this, this has to be the thing, this has to be the straw that breaks the camel's back - and none of it was,” she said.

“I feel like people who support him, no matter what he does at this point, I think their minds are made up.

“There are certain people who say, ‘Oh, well, I don't agree with everything he says or does, but I think you'll be good for the economy’.

Sarah said as a woman, she is terrified of a ban on abortion becoming a the norm.

“I think women are looking at that and a lot of us are just really terrified of that becoming a country wide situation, which they [Republicans] have promised that it would be,” she said

'A place for everybody'

Ms Brett said that the election can’t be looked at as a “narrow picture”.

“If Trump is elected, or Kamala, it's going to affect the likes of Russia and Ukraine and Palestine and Israel,” she said.

Mr Heslin said it is “all about policies”.

“Most of all, we must remember that we need migrants in this country to carry out farming,” he said.

“We need migrants in this country on building sites.

“If we look across New York and every bar and restaurant, our migrant population, our amazing migrant population, are the people who work all these jobs.

“So we just must never forget that there's a place for everybody in this society.”

Listen back here:

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris Image: Michael Le Brecht II/ABC News via ZUMA Press Wire