An Irish woman who was detained by US immigration authorities because of a criminal record dating back almost 20 years has been released after 17 days in custody.
Cliona Ward, 54, who has lived legally in the US for decades, emerged on Wednesday from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility at Tacomain Washington.
After visiting her sick father in Ireland she had been detained at San Francisco airport on 21 April, causing an outcry in Ireland and the US and a campaign for her release.
Last week a California judge agreed to an application for the original convictions to be formally overturned in a manner that would be recognised at a federal level, paving the way for her release, according to Ward’s lawyers.
to anyone who might be thinking this is no big deal. could you just disappear from your life for 17 days and just pick it back up? would your boss happily understand? would any missed bills just forgive you? this is still a massive penalty; not even to mention the psychological harm this ordeal would levy.
It’s funny that in this case the immigration officials were following due process, and people in here are crying about how bad it is.
As someone who could do that: It is still a big deal.
I worry a lot of people won’t learn until the leopard is eating their face, and maybe not even then.
Yep.
Most US’ians are so blindly occupied with the everyday events of their own little lives that they won’t realize/care that it’s raining a shitstorm until the shit actually gets on them personally. In quantity.
🙄 🤡 🤦♀️