Cliona Ward, a 54-year-old Irish woman, has been living legally in the United States for four decades. Now, immigration officials have detained her. Ward, a legal permanent resident with a green card, was arrested at San Francisco International Airport on Apr. 21. This situation has raised alarm among advocates and policymakers alike. They are most concerned about a practice of deportation, especially in light of her strong community ties.
Ward’s detention comes after a series of confrontations with immigration officials. On March 19, she was detained at the airport in Seattle, provided no access to an attorney and held for three days before being released. Irrespective of her legal status, law enforcement used her previous criminal history as a pretext to detain her. She has two separate drug possession felonies from 2007 and 2008 that she thought had been expunged. In addition to these four felonies, her criminal history reflects four misdemeanors.
For the last 20 years, Ward has been sober and a model citizen. She works for a non-profit org and pays taxes. She shows that she believes in doing her part to help her community prosper. On top of that, Ward is a committed caregiver to her chronically ill son, also a U.S. citizen.
Ward’s current detention has focused attention on larger questions about the practices of immigration enforcement and the use of discriminatory, pretextual policing. Critics already decry the recent actions as “the largest deportation operation in American history.” They particularly highlight the need for reform and accountability as a matter of urgency.
Ward’s ordeal has left her feeling embarrassed and discouraged. She spent time in shackles during transportation, according to reports. This was happening on her journey to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Tacoma, Washington. This experience has been tremendously traumatic. To someone who has spent nearly all her adult life in the U.S. creating her life, raising her family here, it is especially crushing.
Cliona received her PhD from the University of California, Santa Cruz, making her American connection even more pronounced. She has never shied away from expressing her loyalty to her community and family, which makes her detention even more egregious.
Supporters of Ward have expressed outrage over how immigration authorities have treated her. Orla Holladay, a friend, stated, “She has a criminal past, but she’s not a criminal. She’s a person with a painful past.” From the advocates we’ve been hearing from, frustration is growing. They are tired of seeing people with old offenses still subject to deportation after they have served their time and become contributing members of our communities.
This week, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin has been here on those comments. He reiterated his call for an end to deportation of those with a green card or citizenship rights without due process.
“Where people have green cards and citizenship rights there shouldn’t be an issue so we will be pursuing this on a bilateral basis to make sure that those who are legitimately entitled to be in the US are free from any challenges or difficulties of this kind.” – Micheál Martin
While Cliona Ward awaits her immigration hearing May 7, advocates are working to build more support on her behalf. Their purpose is to highlight the tragedies that befell people such as Ward. These individuals have demonstrably done a world of good for their communities, but find themselves ensnared in the legal maze of immigration law.