Cliona Ward 'full of gratitude' after being released from US immigration
The sister of Cliona Ward, an Irishwoman who was detained by US immigration, has said that she’s ‘full of gratitude’ after being released.
Ms Ward, a green card holder who has lived in California for a number of years, was detained by US Immigration Control after she left Ireland to visit her father in Co Cork. She was detained over a number of minor criminal offences committed over 20 years ago, that she believed were expunged after pleading guilty.
Ms Ward’s sister Orla Holladay has since confirmed that her sister was released from the Tacoma Detention Centre in Washington State on Wednesday night, hours after a judge accepted an application to terminate the immigration proceedings.
Cliona Ward. Pic: GoFundMe
‘You Guys…. CLIONA IS FREE,’ Ms Holladay wrote on a GoFundMe in support of her sister. ‘We walked into the room and the first thing she did was jump on the bed and hug the pillows.’
Ms Holladay added that Ms Ward felt a range of emotions after being released, saying ‘She is in shock; filled with emotions, traumatised, full of gratitude, fear for the women she left behind,’ while her other sister Tracey Ward said that her release was a ‘huge, huge relief.’
‘I was trying to maintain hope but I know how the system works over there so I was very fearful for her,’ Ms Ward said. ‘I’m just completely relieved. The outpouring of love worldwide that we’ve received has been absolutely unbelievable.’
Cliona’s sister Orla said that her sister was full of gratitude after she was released. Pic: Orla Holladay
Ms Ward is a green card holder, meaning she can live and work in the US permanently, but was detained upon returning from visiting her father in Cork over a small number of minor offences that occurred over 20 years ago.
The offences, which were drug and traffic related, were expunged, but after she presented at an immigration centre to confirm, she was told that they were expunged at a state level but not federal level, and she was detained.
An application was made in California last Friday for the original convictions to be formally vacated, with Ms Ward’s lawyer Erin Hall telling RTÉ ‘It was very clear that Ms Ward didn’t make those pleas voluntarily because she wasn’t aware of the potential immigration consequences, so there was a constitutional violation.
Cliona, second from left, with members of her family. Pic: Orla Holladay
A judge in California agreed to the application which allowed Ms Hall to subsequently file the motion to terminate immigration proceedings, while a judge at the Tacoma Immigration Court signed an order ending the removal proceedings.
‘The judge acted very quickly and I would say this case definitely moved faster than a normal case. I’m glad that that all worked out for her,’ Ms Hall said. ‘Justice was done.’
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