Cliona Ward, the US green card holder and Irish citizen who had been arrested and imprisoned in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centre, was released after her preliminary hearing took place in Tacoma, near Seattle.
Ms Ward (54) was transferred to the private detention facility after returning to San Francisco following a visit to see her gravely ill father in Co Cork in April.
She was arrested after reporting, as requested, to an immigration facility with documents proving that records for decades old drug and motor vehicle convictions had been expunged. However, she was informed that those expungements, while valid at state level, did not apply at federal level.
Ms Ward moved to California at the age of 12 and has made numerous trips abroad since without any issue.
The Pullman review: Is this restaurant on a train carriage travelling towards a Michelin star?
Dave Hannigan: Why Bill Belichick’s relationship with woman 49 years younger has America rapt
Man drove at more than 150km/h before debs crash that killed two teenagers in 2023
Cliona Ward, Irish woman held in US detention centre after family visit, released
Supporters of Ms Ward have vowed to support others who become embroiled in the punitive US system.
US congressman for California’s 19th district Jimmy Panetta praised the collective pressure put on government representatives in her case.
The successful petitioning by her Santa Cruz based attorney, Michael Mehr, to have the state charges against Ms Ward vacated in a process applicable at federal level may have helped facilitate the swift resolution.
“Cliona Ward’s release demonstrates what can happen when we come together to fight for transparency, due process, and justice,” Mr Panetta said after her release was ordered.
“We fought for Cliona from the top down to the bottom up. I pressured officials from the White House to the Irish Government. But this case is also an example of this administration doing the wrong thing when it comes to its overreaching deportation policies that can sweep up people like Cliona.”
The release comes after a harrowing few weeks for the Ward family.
“None of us have really been able to sleep properly while this has been going on,” Cliona’s sister Tracey Ward told RTÉ on Wednesday.
“I’m just completely relieved. I think with Cliona gaining her freedom she will, and the rest of our family will, try and amplify our voices in support of all the people who are going through this unjust system.”
Mr Mehr expressed surprise and relief at the speed with which Ms Ward was released from detention. Her case had been dealt with “at warp speed” he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
Ms Ward was thrilled to be released although “mortified” that she was detained over expunged convictions from decades ago, Mr Mehr said.
She had no idea her previous convictions would still be recognised for immigration purposes because they had been expunged at a state level, he said.
Mr Mehr added that Ms Ward was told by officials they were reluctant to detain her but that those were their instructions. “Under the new administration, these were their marching orders.”
Ms Ward had told him the conditions in the detention centre were harsh, the food was “manky” and the lights were never turned off, Mr Mehr said, adding she had bonded with other women and now felt bad that they are still going through the process.
It had been obvious that Ms Ward was not a flight risk, her lawyer said.
Immigration attorneys were now urging all those who could to become US citizens, as they were now afraid to travel outside the US, Mr Mehr said.
“Hopefully we will overcome this because there is a lot of growing resistance to Trump’s unreasonable policies.”
Family, friends and union colleagues of Ms Ward’s had gathered for an early morning rally an hour before the hearing, which was scheduled for 8.30am, local time, on Wednesday.
Her sister, Orla Holladay, told the gathering Ms Ward was a “humble, private and gentle” person who is “the primary caretaker for her chronically ill son, Malachi. Today I speak for my sister but also speak for all of the men and women who are unlawfully imprisoned in these for-profit organisations – and the innocent children who are caught in the ugly crossfire.”
A spokesperson for the Services Employees International Union, which represents workers in healthcare, property services and airport sectors across the United States, and of which Ms Ward is a member, outlined their reasons as to why the charges against her should be dismissed.
Almost half of the union’s two million strong membership are immigrants and many of those are on temporary protected status.
“We believe that Cliona’s detention is not only cruel and unjust but also represents a failure in our cruel, inhumane and broken immigration system,” said the spokesperson.
