Cliona Ward thanks family following her release from custody in US
She was detained by Immigration and Customs officers in April after returning from Ireland
Cliona Ward has thanked her family following her release from custody in the United States earlier this month.
The 54-year-old who is originally from Dublin, lives in Santa Cruz, California.
She was arrested after she returned from visiting her dying father in Ireland in April.
Ward was being detained by ICE over minor convictions from almost 20 years ago, which were supposed to have been expunged from her record.
Cliona Ward
News in 90 Seconds - May 27th
She was released and told to report to San Francisco with proof of her expungement; however, when she got there, she was reapprehended, charged with moral turpitude and shipped to Washington.
The mother remained behind bars in a detention facility until she was released earlier this month.
Taking to a GoFundMe page, set up by her sister Orla Holladay, Cliona thanked her family for support and talked about her ordeal for the first time.
"My warrior sister, defender of justice!!!! Could this be a calling for you? You dive in deep and figure out what to do next...I cannot thank you enough for what you did for me, and now continue to fight for justice served,' she wrote.
"You know how to weave the strings together to provide due process for the people in ICE detention centres.
"That is all they need.... They are not informed on how to get out and they are so afraid to speak up for the basic human rights...like how to find council or interpreter services... They give them detention handbooks in English and Spanish only,' she continued.
"All done on purpose to keep them detained and deportable. I cannot thank you enough for what you did.
"Everyone should have the opportunity to prove their innocence.
If proven guilty, at least they had the opportunity to be heard. I must secure my status before diving deep, so thank you for being my voice for them. I love you so much, my Warrior, my defender, my sister, my anam cara,' she continued.
"There is truly no one in the world like you, and I am truly blessed!"
Orla previously told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that she is terrified Cliona was going to get lost in the system.
'She's afraid that she's going to get lost in the system. That was the one thing she said to me: 'Please don't let me get lost.'
Orla explained that Cliona has been sober for almost 20 years, and currently works at a nonprofit Christian organisation teaching children.
'This has to do with a painful addiction, and she did everything she could do to change that,' said Holladay.
'She's a viable, valuable part of this community,' she said, describing her as a gentle, loving and private person.
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