Cliona Ward.GoFundMe

Cliona Ward, an Irish woman with a valid green card who lives in California, was reunited with her sister on Wednesday, May 7, after being released from ICE custody in Washington state.

"You Guys.... CLIONA IS FREE," Orla Holladay, Cliona's sister, wrote on the GoFundMe page for Cliona's legal fees on Wednesday evening.

"We just tucked her into a room and she is currently taking a shower. We walked into the room and the first thing she did was jump on the bed and hug the pillows. 

"She is in shock; filled with emotions, traumatized, full of gratitude, fear for the women she left behind.

"When we picked her up she was very hungry, the first thing she said when we got away from the prison was please get me some food."

Orla said it is an "absolutely surreal experience," adding that she is trying to catch up with family, as well as Cliona, and will likely have another update on Thursday.

Orla went on to thank everyone for the donations, which as of Wednesday evening totalled more than $47k. She noted that they still have to get the lawyer's bills and "tally everything up."

She added: "Know that you have made a huge difference in our lives and we love you- In solidarity and love."

54-year-old Cliona, whose green card is valid until 2033, was stopped by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on March 19.

She was returning to California from Ireland, where she had accompanied her step-mother to visit her father, who is at the end of his life.

Cliona's sister Orla told NBC Bay Area that Cliona had been detained because of her prior criminal record, which stretches from 2003 to 2008.

Orla separately told Newsweek that Cliona's prior criminal record includes six cases - two felonies for possession of drugs in December 2007 and January 2008, and four misdemeanors.

The convictions, however, had been expunged at the state level.

Orla told Newsweek that Cliona, who had struggled with addiction, has now been sober for more than 20 years.

After being held by customs for three days at SFO, Cliona was released so she could obtain documentation to prove her records had been expunged in California. 

After getting the documentation, Cliona returned to SFO Customs for an 'administrative hearing' on April 21 - however, the Irish woman was again detained by customs and told she would have to argue her case in front of an immigration judge.

Cliona was then sent to an ICE detention facility, the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington.

For her first court date on Wednesday, members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), of which Cliona is a member, staged a demonstration in support of the Irish woman.

The demonstration was joined by Orla, as well as members of One America and La Resistencia.

"There are no winners if Cliona is ultimately deported," Tricia Schroeder, the president of SEIU Local 925, said at the demonstration, "there are only losers."

On Wednesday, Cliona's Washington state-based attorney Erin Hall told RTÉ's Prime Time that an application had been made in California on Friday for Cliona's original convictions to be formally vacated in a manner that would be recognized at a federal level.

A California judge agreed to the application, which allowed Hall to subsequently file a motion to terminate the immigration proceedings.

On Wednesday, a judge at the Tacoma Immigration Court signed an order ending the removal proceedings against Cliona, leading to her release later in the day.

California Representative Jimmy Panetta, who had been lobbying for Cliona's release, said on Wednesday that the case was not only an example of the Administration's "overreaching deportation policies," but also of the importance of due process.

"We want to make sure people like Cliona - although she might have ran into some drug addiction issues - she got better, she got rehabbed, and she became part of our community as a legal permanent resident, and that's why we fought so hard for her to stay a part of our community."