Irish woman living legally in the US detained after returning back from Ireland

Sarah Slater

An Irish woman who has been living legally in California for more than 30 years was detained by US immigration enforcement this month after returning from a visit to Ireland to see her ill father.

Green-card holder Cliona Ward (54) first ran into legal trouble last month after arriving back in the US from a trip to Ireland to visit her father who is living with dementia.

Ms Ward, who is originally from Cork, was detained and questioned by customs at San Francisco airport over her past criminal record, which stretched between 2003 to 2008 and included some charges pertaining to the possession of drugs.

She and her sister Orla Holladay, who also lives in the US, claimed her convictions were expunged, prompting authorities to temporarily release her to get the appropriate documentation to prove her records had been cleared in California.

When she went to plead her case at the airport customs on Monday last week and present proof of her expungement, she was detained once more and told to argue her case in front of an immigration judge.

A GoFundme page has been set up by her sister Orla to cover legal costs.

Ms Holladay told NBC Bay Area news that her sister has a son who is an “American citizen, who she is currently a caretaker for because he’s chronically ill.

“I feel like I’m in the twilight zone. She’s not a criminal. She has a criminal past, which she was atoned for,” adding that her sister struggled with addiction.

In a recent update to Ward’s GoFundMe Page, Ms Holladay wrote that her sister was being held in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Tacoma, Washington.

She added: “I just got to talk to Cliona. 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.”

Ms Ward is due to appear in court for a hearing on May 7th.

Ms Holladay added: “I found out that when she got off the plane in Tackoma officers handcuffed, shackled her and escorted her though the airport – like a hardened criminal. She was mortified, shamed and demoralised.

“On a positive note, we were able to get two visitors into her today thanks to our neighbor Valarie and her boss Tess.”

Local Democrat politician Jimmy Panetta said in a statement: “It’s unimaginable that a 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 [Donald Trump] 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."

Mr Panetta added that he is continuing to press US Customs and Border Protection for the release of Ms Ward and that he is working closely with her advocates to “coordinate efforts, ensure transparency, and uphold the law and due process that must be afforded to everyone in the United States”.