The Donegal man facing deportation from Boston was targeted for arrest by immigration officers because of the length of the overstay on his visa and an outstanding felony warrant, the US authorities have said.
John Cunningham (38), who had been living illegally in the US since 1999, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials at his home in Boston and is awaiting deportation.
ICE said that the Glencolmcille native was arrested for “immigration violations” for overstaying by 15 years the 90-day limit under the terms of the visa waiver programme.
Mr Cunningham, an electrical contractor living in the Brighton area of Boston, was the subject of a complaint to police by Christopher Waltham over the alleged theft of $1,300 (€1,448) in May 2014.
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Mr Waltham, who lived in the Boston neighbourhood of Roslindale, alleged to police that he gave Mr Cunningham, of Atkins Street, Brighton, a cheque for that amount to carry out electrical work at his home.
According to a copy of the police report filed in the Boston courts, Mr Waltham claimed that he was unable to contact the Donegal man after paying him and that the work was never carried out.
The clerk’s office in the West Roxbury division of Boston Municipal Court said that Mr Cunningham failed to appear at a court hearing in August 2014 and, as a result, a warrant was issued for his arrest.
The Boston court said that, according to its records, that arrest warrant remains outstanding.
ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer said that the warrant against Mr Cunningham made his case a more significant matter for US immigration officers in targeting the Irish man.
“He had an outstanding felony warrant and he was a significant over-stay by a margin of 15 years; that is more significant for us,” said Mr Neudauer.
“His status has been known for some time and they [ICE OFFICIALS]are going through a list.”
Mr Cunningham’s Boston-based attorney Chris Lavery said his client did not want to comment on his case. He is being held in a Suffolk County jail in Boston pending his deportation back to Ireland.
Court records show that the Donegal native was also sued in a small claims court in Boston this year by another customer who claimed they had paid him money and that he did not complete the work as promised.
Aza Chirkova obtained a judgment for $1,500 against Mr Cunningham who traded as JC Electrical Services, on April 18th 2017 after she paid him a deposit to carry out electrical work in November 2016.
She alleged that the work was never carried out and he never repaid her deposit. She issued legal proceedings against him in March.
Court records show that Mr Cunningham was still in default on the payment of the judgment amount by June 13th, just three days before his arrest.
Mr Lavery said that he would put queries from The Irish Times about the two customers complaints to Mr Cunningham when he visits him next at the South Bay House of Correction on Friday.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has said that since Donald Trump became US president on January 20th it had provided consular assistance to seven individuals arrested over immigration issues in the US.
The department has said that there has been no increase in the number of illegal Irish being arrested under the Trump administration compared with the same period under president Barack Obama.
The Irish consulate in Boston is providing assistance to Mr Cunningham, who was chairman of the local GAA club in Boston and a prominent member of the Irish-American community in the city.
Under the Obama administration, US immigration agents prioritised for deportation illegal immigrants who threatened public safety or who had committed serious felony offences. Under Mr Trump, the definition of “criminal” has been expanded giving individual immigration officers greater autonomy to take actions.
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