Fundraiser launched for Irish woman detained by ICE after living legally in US for 30 years
'Her lawyer told her she may be in there for months while we fight for her release'
A fundraising appeal has been launched for an Irish woman who was detained following a visit to her ill father in Ireland despite the fact she had been legally residing in the US for 30 years.
Cliona Ward (54), who is originally from Dublin but has been living in Santa Cruz, California, was stopped by federal authorities and brought to a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility last week despite holding a valid permanent green card.
Her family say Ward, who emigrated to the US when she was 12, was detained over minor offences from almost 20 years ago which they say have been expunged from her record.
Ward was first stopped by customs officials in Seattle when she returned to the US after visiting her dying father in Ireland with her step-mother in March.
The officials brought up her six minor offences which stretch from 2003 to 2008 and detained her for two days.
The convictions include two felonies for possession of drugs and four misdemeanours for minor offences including "failure to notify DMV [Department of Motor Vehicles] of address change within 10 days'.
They released her after she told them her convictions had been expunged and told her to get documentation and attend a meeting with customs officials in San Francisco last Monday week.
However, when she turned up with the documents she was detained again and charged with moral turpitude.
Her sister Orla Holladay said Ward who has been sober for almost 20 years currently works at a nonprofit Christian organisation teaching soil management and conservation to child.
Describing her as a 'very private and gentle person who just wants to return to her quiet life', Orla said Cliona is facing months in detention.
In an update on the 'Cliona's Hope: A Mother's Fight for Freedom' GoFundMe page, Orla thanked all those who had helped so far.
'Her lawyer met with her today and it was both a relief for Cliona to know that she has representation but also very painful and scary when her lawyer told her she may be in there for months while we fight for her release.
'She said the water is undrinkable, the food is not fit to eat and her biggest consolation today was that her lawyer was able to bring her a pen.
'I'm exhausted and sick and it's hard to eat. Went back to my classroom today but it's so hard to focus. We fight again tomorrow for her freedom and bring awareness to all of the innocent detainees in these dentation centers.'
Orla had previously written about how she 'woke with a very heavy and vulnerable heart thinking about Cliona sitting in a concrete jungle on May Day, a day when she would normally be out planting and taking care of this beautiful planet.'
She told how she found out that when her sister had been taken off the plane in Tacoma 'officers handcuffed, shackled her and escorted her though the airport, like a hardened criminal'.
'She was mortified, shamed and demoralized,' Orla wrote, adding that the detention centre is 'worse than prison'.
'Visitors can't even bring her food, which she said is gross.
'She said that she has been really depressed but knowing people are keeping eyes on her lifted her again. 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.'
Ward is a carer for her chronically ill adult son Malaki who is now being cared for by Holladay and his grandparents who are aged in their 80s. His birthday fell two days after Ward's detention.
Ward is a legal permanent resident in the US but also retains Irish citizenship.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said they were aware of the case and providing consular assistance.
'As with all consular cases, the Department does not comment on the details of individual cases.'
The detention comes following a major crackdown on immigrants by ICE since Donald Trump's second presidency and a US politicians has described her detention as 'cruel and unreasonable' and 'appalling.'
California US Representative Jimmy Panetta, a Democrat, said he was pressing customs officials for Ward's release.
'It is unimaginable that reportedly expunged, 20-year-old incident could be used as justification for deporting a legal permanent resident who is a productive member of our community.'
'But this is the cruel and unreasonable state of this Administration's deportation policy. As a former gang prosecutor, I understand and appreciate the need to remove hardened criminals from our communities, but the detention of Cliona Ward—now in her 50s and a Green Card holder—for decades-old crimes that have reportedly been expunged from her personal record is unfathomable and unacceptable."
California State Assembly representative Gail Pellerin told the Santa Cruz Mercury that the case was 'a clear example … of the falsehood we're hearing from the (federal) administration that they're only going after, you know, hardened criminals who are here undocumented.
'Here they're clearly going after somebody who has been in this country, who has a green card, who 20 years ago had some offenses that were minor and she thought they were expunged from the record. But the fact that she is a person being held under this circumstance is just absolutely appalling.'
Orla, meanwhile, told how Cliona's first court hearing will not take place until May 7.
'She's terrified, she's distraught, she's scared, she's worried about her son,' Holladay told the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
'She's just trying to hold it together.
''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.''
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