A man from Co Donegal, who has had his green card petition pending with the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for more than three years, is set to be deported from Boston, Massachusetts.
The Irish man, whose story first appeared in the Irish Times on May 20, does not wish to have his name published. His Boston-based attorney John Foley spoke with IrishCentral on Wednesday evening.
"Like most Irish visitors, he came to the US on the visa waiver or ESTA program and was allowed to stay for 90 days," Foley told IrishCentral.
Having "overstayed" for about 15 years, the Irish man was subject to immediate removal by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "without ever going in front of a judge," Foley said.
Foley explained that his client was recently detained by ICE following a driving-related offense.
Foley noted that the Donegal man has had a legal residency - or 'green card' - petition pending with USCIS for more than three years.
Foley said he asked authorities to "hold off on deporting" the Irish man, and suggested that his client wear an ankle bracelet and report to authorities once a week until USCIS adjusted his pending petition. His request has been refused.
The Irish man is now in a prison in Massachusetts awaiting what Foley believes is certain deportation - he feels his client will be back in Ireland within ten days.
Foley said that "if / when" the Irish man is deported, he will be banned from re-entering the US for ten years.
The Donegal man has two sons, aged 10 and 9, who are US citizens. He also owns a company that has a "handful" of employees.
Foley added: "In true Trump Administration fashion, it’s a lose / lose for everyone, but no one will lose as much as those two boys who will grow up without a father."
When asked what advice he would give Irish people in the US who have overstayed their visas, Foley insisted that they make a plan and speak with an immigration lawyer, with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA.org) being a good resource.
ICE said in its 2024 Fiscal Year Report, published in December during the Biden administration, that it had removed more people without legal basis to remain in the US than it did in any other fiscal year since 2015.
The annual report showed a year-on-year increase in the number of Irish citizens being deported from the US - 60 Irish citizens were deported from the US in Fiscal Year 2024, 37 in 2023, 17 in 2022, and 10 in 2021.
Last week, NBC News reported that under the Trump administration, the number of people deported by ICE has not been regularly released to the public.
NBC News previously reported that ICE had deported around 11,000 migrants in February and just over 12,300 in the first four weeks of March.
"Trump administration officials have said they will prioritize deporting criminals," NBC News reported last week, "but ICE data shows that roughly half of those who were deported in February did not have criminal records, and more than half of those currently in ICE detention have no criminal charges or convictions."
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