BUSHWICK — For more than six decades, Msgr. James Kelly’s law office on Wyckoff Avenue has handled standing-room-only crowds of clients seeking U.S. citizenship. So, it is not surprising that in the days following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, this 87-year-old diocesan priest from Limerick, Ireland, has become an interview “get” for multiple news outlets. Just look at his appointment calendar.

A Feb. 19 interview with The Tablet followed reports by Currents News, EWTN, and the New York Times. An interview with another newspaper was set for Feb. 20. Journalists want to know Msgr. Kelly’s take on Trump 2.0’s immigration plans, but he doesn’t have much to tell them — at least not yet.

“I can’t answer that because I don’t think he’s clear on what he’s going to do,” Msgr. Kelly said, noting that the uncertainty has fueled fear in immigrant communities. Consequently, visits to his office were noticeably fewer.

Msgr. Kelly’s administrative assistant, Princess Reinoso, said on Feb. 19 that visits were starting to pick up again. Typically, an estimated 50 to 100 people visit the office each day, she said. “The first two weeks of Trump was when everybody was scared,” she said. “Everything now is coming back to normal.”

Msgr. Kelly said people feared agents for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) might be surveilling his Bushwick office to arrest them. President Trump has issued several executive orders to facilitate mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, particularly those with violent criminal records. He has also ordered stepped-up border enforcement and announced he would like to abolish the practice of birthright citizenship.

Pope Francis has sharply criticized Trump’s immigration positions, saying they offend human dignity. Also, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently sued the Trump administration over its halt of refugee resettlement funding.

Other religious leaders assail the president’s declaration that sensitive areas like churches and schools are not off limits for ICE. The leaders say this directive would violate their rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. But so far, Msgr. Kelly said, ICE has stayed away from his office — except to say “hi.”

“I know a lot of immigration officers who come here to visit,” he said. “These are people that I’ve known for years. But, when they come in, the people get scared. I say, ‘No, no, these are friends. They’re not here to arrest you.’ ”

If raids do happen, they will be among the many changes Msgr. Kelly has seen since coming to Brooklyn more than 60 years ago — including Bushwick’s changing population groups and updates in immigration law.

Msgr. Kelly, who was ordained a priest in Rome, was 23 when the Church sent him to Brooklyn in 1960 to help Italian immigrants.

“But the Italians were gone when I came,” he said. “Then there was an earthquake in Sicily in 1968, [followed by] a huge surge in Italian migration. I was involved in all of that.” Msgr. Kelly was assigned to St. Brigid Church and later became the pastor.

Still, Msgr. Kelly never stopped helping immigrants. He earned a law degree in 1980 from St. John’s University so that he could accompany his clients in federal immigration courts. He also learned Spanish.

Over the years, his office helped people from European countries, the Caribbean, and Africa. These days, the clients are mostly from Latin America; most are Ecuadorians, now a prominent population in Bushwick.

Msgr. Kelly helped Reinoso’s parents, who are Ecuadorian, 20 years ago. Her brother, Richard, also works at the law office as an immigration counselor.

Msgr. Kelly is retired but in residence at St. Brigid. He uses a cane and has a full schedule of doctor appointments, but he still works — sometimes six days a week — to help his staff counsel immigrants on how to complete their paperwork for citizenship.

The counselors also help clients understand the legal system and provide citizenship classes several times weekly. While his services aren’t free, Msgr. Kelly said his fees are minimal, even though his staffers are as good as their peers in “high-dollar” immigration law firms.

He stressed, however, that many clients can’t be helped. For example, they may have entered the country without sponsorship or do not qualify for political asylum because they weren’t persecuted in their homelands.

Msgr. Kelly described how some people told him they went to other lawyers who charge $5,000 per case and asked if he could charge less.

“I say, ‘He can’t do anything, even if you pay him $10,000,’ ” Msgr. Kelly said, explaining if someone doesn’t qualify under the law, there is nothing any lawyer can do. “We won’t do your case unless we think we can do something for you. We’re not going to lie to you.”

Msgr. Kelly said his office can charge less because he takes no salary, and his workers are not paid “top dollar” even though they could make more money elsewhere.

“I am very proud of all of them,” he said. Operating capital comes from renting a former Catholic school to the New York City Department of Education.

The team members believe they will have plenty of work in the coming years. Richard Reinoso hopes to become a lawyer and continue Msgr. Kelly’s legacy.

“He’s been doing this for as long as anyone can remember, and he has been doing it for the entire community,” Richard said. “I was born here, but I still understand how important it is to know our privileges, to check our rights, and then make sure that we give everybody the same opportunity for life, liberty, and happiness.”

Msgr. Kelly said he expects to continue helping people as long as he can.

“If I’m alive,” he said with a chuckle, “I’m here.”