Irish woman living legally in US for 30 years detained after visit to Ireland
A woman who has been living in the US for more than 30 years was taken into detention by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement after she paid a visit to her sick father in Ireland.
Cliona Ward, 54, went to the US in her early teens and has been residing in Santa Cruz,
California
, for over three decades. She recently traveled back to Ireland with her stepmother to visit their father, who has dementia. Upon her return, Ward was questioned about 20-year-old drug possession convictions that have reportedly been 'expunged' under state but not under federal law.
Ward's sister told the Irish Times that despite holding
a valid green card,
Ward was held at the airport in
San Francisco
, for questioning.
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Ward was reportedly released, but when she returned to the airport last Monday to show documentation to officials from
US Customs and Border Protection
recording how the convictions had been expunged, she was taken into custody.
According to the enforcement agency's website, Ward is being held in an ICE facility in Tacoma, Washington state. According to reports, she is due before the courts on May 7th.
Ward reportedly returned several days later with the requested documentation and was taken into custody
(Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Orla Holladay, Ward's sister, set up a GoFundMe, to help with her sister's legal costs. Titled 'Cliona's Hope: A Mother's Fight for Freedom,' it has already gathered around $22,500. In the description, she wrote that Ward is the sole carer for her son who is chronically ill.
On Saturday, Holladay shared an update that she had spoken to Ward and that she was finding comfort in the other women at the detention center, who find themselves in a similar situation.
'She shared that, although she can't speak with the majority of the women in there because most don't speak English, they have been giving each other support and there are lots of tears and hugs between the women.'
According to the Irish Times, Kenneth Cook McKnight, a school-mate of Ward's said: 'She had travelled multiple times back and forth to Ireland to see family over the years and never had a problem, until now, and obviously what is different now is the current political climate here, and the administration.'
US Representative Jimmy Panetta, a Democrat from California, said in a statement it was 'unimaginable that a reportedly expunged, decades-old crime could be used as justification for deporting a legal permanent resident who is a productive member of our community.'
Fears within the Irish immigrant community are rising, after the Trump administration launched their mass deportations. Thousands of individuals - both documented and undocumented - have been picked up by ICE since Trump took office in January. Lawyers are urging people to
know their rights when traveling to and from the United States.
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