Consular officials are working to resolve the detention of an Irish woman who was taken into custody in the United States after arriving from Ireland, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
Cliona Ward, a valid green card holder who has been living in the US for decades, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after a trip to Ireland to visit her sick father.
The 54-year-old was held and later detained as queries were raised about the past convictions.
Speaking in Dublin on Monday, the Taoiseach said he was “concerned” about Ms Ward’s case.
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“Our consular officials and consulate general in San Francisco and elsewhere will be supporting and facilitating Cliona and the family to get this issue resolved.
“When issues like this arise from time to time, our officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs engage with the view to getting the issue resolved,” he said.
Mr Martin said the Irish Government would be pursuing US authorities “to make sure that those who are legitimately entitled to be in the US are free from any challenges or difficulties of this kind”.
Asked if he was concerned about a shift in US immigration policy, the Taoiseach said he would require a “fuller report” though said there have been similar incidents which is “something we will take up with the US on a bilateral basis”.
Ms Ward, who is detained in an ICE facility in Tacoma, Washington, was questioned about “expunged” drug possession convictions from more than a decade ago when she landed in San Francisco. The convictions were reportedly expunged under state but not federal law.
Ms Ward returned to the airport last Monday to show documentation to officials from US Customs and Border Protection recording how the convictions had been expunged.
However, she was taken into custody and is now due before the courts on May 7th.
