Cliona Ward, Irish green card holder held in US detention centre, to be released
Sarah Slater
An Irish woman detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last month after returning from a visit to Ireland to see her ill father is to be released following a court appearance earlier today.
Cliona Ward, 54, a green-card holder, who has been living legally there for around 30 years, first ran into legal trouble in March after arriving back in the US from a trip to Ireland to visit her father in Youghal, Co Cork who is living with dementia.
Ms Ward, whose green card is valid until 2033, was detained and questioned by customs at the San Francisco airport on March 19th over her past criminal record.
Her prior criminal record includes six cases - two felonies for possession of drugs in December 2007 and January 2008, and four misdemeanours.
She and her sister Orla Holladay, who also lives in the US, claimed her convictions were expunged however, prompting customs to temporarily release her to obtain the appropriate documentation to prove that her records had been cleared in California.
When she went to plead her case at San Francisco airport Customs on April 21st and present proof of her expungement, she was detained once more and told to argue her case in front of an immigration judge.
On Wednesday, Ms Ward's Washington state-based attorney Erin Hall, said that an application was made in California on Friday last for the original convictions to be formally vacated in a manner that would be recognised at a federal level.
A California judge agreed to the application, which allowed Ms Hall to subsequently file a motion to terminate the immigration proceedings.
A GoFundme page has been set up by her sister, Orla to cover legal costs.
Ms Ward, a mother of one son, appeared in court in Seattle at 8.30 am local time (Irish time 4.30 pm) and in an update on the fundraising page, Cliona’s Hope: A Mother’s Fight for Freedom, Ms Hollady said that the charity group her sister works with are organising protests for her “preliminary court hearing”.
Ms Ward is a caregiver for her son Malachi, who is an “American citizen, and chronically ill.
On Wednesday, a judge at the Tacoma Immigration Court signed an order ending the removal proceedings against Ms Ward.
Another sister of Ms Ward, Tracey Ward told RTÉ that the development is a "huge, huge relief."
"I was trying to maintain hope today but I know how the system works over there so I was very fearful for her. I'm just completely relieved," she said.
"The outpouring of love worldwide that we've received has been absolutely unbelievable.”
Democrat California Representatives Jimmy who has ed and been calling for Ms Ward’s release said in a statement on social media:
"I’m proud to share that Cliona Ward, a 30-year legal permanent resident of Santa Cruz County, will be released after being detained and threatened with deportation.”
