An Irish woman who has lived in the U.S. for over 30 years has been detained by immigration over a decades-old criminal record. 

Cliona Ward, 54, moved to the U.S. when she was 12 years old and is a permanent resident with a valid green card. 

But on April 21, she was detained at San Francisco Airport over an expunged criminal conviction, her sister Orla Holladay said. 

Cliona Ward was detained by ICE after returning from visiting her sick father in Ireland

Image credits: GoFundMe

Ward had recently traveled back to Ireland with her stepmother so that she could visit her sick father, who has dementia. 

But when she returned to the U.S. on March 19, she was stopped at Seattle Airport and held for three days.

Ward was released from custody to obtain documentation proving her criminal convictions had been expunged, but when she presented them to officials at San Francisco airport on April 21, she was detained again and taken to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Tacoma, according to Holladay.

Her prior convictions relate to two felonies involving drug possession in 2007 and 2008 and four misdemeanors, Newsweek reported.

The claim that Ward’s criminal records were expunged has not been independently verified. 

Image credits: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Holladay said her sister struggled with addiction for about five years but had been sober for more than 20. 

“The reality of the felony is that she was an addict, and she was picked up for possessing the poison that she was putting into her own body,” Holladay told Newsweek. 

“She has a criminal past, but she’s not a criminal. She’s a person with a painful past.” 

Image credits: Cliona Ward/Facebook

It is understood that Ward has traveled to and from the U.S. multiple times without issue. 

She is now being held at the ICE facility in Washington State.

Her lawyer said she may be at the facility for months as her family fights for her release. 

“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,” Holladay said.

“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.”

Ward’s lawyer says she may be at the facility for months

Image credits: Cliona Ward/Facebook

“We fight again tomorrow for her freedom and bring awareness to all of the innocent detainees in these detention centers.”

Holladay said her sister, who attended the University of California, has a chronically ill son who depends on her for caregiving. 

“She did everything she was supposed to do in order to make reparations for that criminal conviction and has been gainfully employed, paying taxes and building a family in Santa Cruz,” Holladay added. 

“Cliona is a very private and gentle person who wants nothing more than to return to her quiet life.”

 

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Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin told RTÉ News that consular officials were supporting the family. 

“Our advice is consistent in terms of where people have green cards or citizenship rights there shouldn’t be an issue, so we will be pursuing it on a bilateral basis to make sure that those who are legitimately entitled to be in the U.S. are free from any challenges or difficulties of this kind.”

California Representative Jimmy Panetta told RTÉ he was pushing for Ward’s release.

“It is unimaginable that a reportedly expunged, decades-old crime could be used as justification for deporting a legal permanent resident who is a productive member of our community,” he said.

“I am continuing to push the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the release of Ms. Ward and am working closely with her legal advocates to coordinate efforts, ensure transparency, and uphold the law and due process that must be afforded to everyone in the United States,” he added.