Longtime US Resident Faces Deportation Over decades-Old Check
BOSTON, MA – An Irish woman who has lived in the United States for 50 years is facing deportation due to a bounced $25 check from 1996, a case highlighting the severe consequences of even minor financial infractions for immigrants.
The case, brought to light by advocacy groups, underscores the vulnerability of long-term residents to deportation proceedings based on past errors, even if those errors were unintentional or resolved long ago. Advocates say the situation reveals systemic issues within ICE detention centers,where detainees are often unaware of their rights or how to access legal assistance. ”You know how to weave the strings together to provide due process for the people in ICE detention centres,” one advocate stated, adding, “that is all they need…. They are not informed on how to get out and they are so afraid to speak up for the basic human rights…like how to find council or interpreter services… They give them detention handbooks in English and Spanish only.” The advocate continued, “All done on purpose to keep them detained and deportable. I cannot thank you enough for what you did.”
The woman,whose name has not been publicly released,initially came to the US legally and has maintained a clean record aside from the check,which was used to cover a utility bill. Despite having paid the debt and the check being decades old, immigration officials recently initiated deportation proceedings. This follows a pattern of ICE pursuing deportation cases based on minor offenses, even for individuals with deep ties to the US community.
Separately, a 35-year-old Irishman, identified only as “Thomas,” recently returned to Ireland after being detained by US immigration officials for approximately 100 days across three facilities. Thomas had travelled to the US to visit his girlfriend in West Virginia under the ESTA visa waiver program, which allows tourists a maximum stay of 90 days. After injuring his calf and being advised against flying for eight weeks due to a risk of blood clots,he overstayed his visa by three days. He was afterward arrested by ICE agents following a mental health episode while in a hotel. Now barred from the US for ten years, Thomas urged visitors to take immigration rules “very seriously.”
