Cliona Ward, the Irish woman detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for almost three weeks after returning from a visit to Ireland, is suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder following her release, her sister has said.
Ms Ward (54), a green-card holder who has been living legally in the United States for about 30 years, first ran into legal trouble in March after arriving back from a trip to visit her ill father in Youghal, Co Cork.
Ms Ward, whose green card is valid until 2033, was detained and questioned by customs at the San Francisco airport on March 19th over her past criminal record. She was facing deportation by immigration officials.
Her prior criminal record includes six cases: two felonies for possession of drugs in December 2007 and January 2008, and four misdemeanours.
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Born in Dublin, she and her sister Orla Holladay, who also lives in the US, claimed her convictions were expunged, prompting customs to temporarily release her to obtain the appropriate documentation to prove that her records had been cleared in California.
When she went to plead her case at San Francisco airport to customs on April 21st and present proof of her expungement, she was detained again and told to argue her case in front of an immigration judge. The expungement had been carried out at a state not federal level.
Ms Ward was released by a court in Seattle last Wednesday after her original convictions were formally vacated so that they would be recognised at a federal level.
Her case has garnered huge media attention both in Ireland and in the US.
But her sister, Ms Holladay, in an update on the GoFundMe page set up for her case, explained that “life is not normal for us. Cliona is in (suffering from) PTSD”.
Ms Holladay, who is now looking after her, sister continued: “She spent the night vomiting, purging the food she had been fed, and because they don’t ever turn the lights off in the detention centre, when she closes her eyes all she sees is fluorescent lights.”
She added that some of the donations left in the almost €50,000 raised will be used to help other women being held in the detention centre where Ms Ward was held.
“She [Ms Ward] desperately wants to help the other women that were in the centre with her and we have already started the campaign to help. Know that your donations will allow Cliona some time to heal. To all of you who have sent a personal message know that I, we, will try to respond and we are so grateful. In love and solidarity – Orla and Cliona.”
Democrat California Congressman Jimmy Panetta lent his support for her release. He tweeted on X: “Cliona Ward is released and that’s what happens when we fight for transparency, due process and justice. We worked this case from Santa Cruz to DC… and from Seattle to Ireland.”
