Irish woman held by ICE freed after court hearing

An Irish citizen who had been held by immigration authorities in the United States for almost five months has been freed and is back at the family home in Missouri. Donna Hughes-Brown pictured with her husband Jim in Ireland in July Donna Hughes-Brown, 59, spoke of her relief to RTÉ News that she would not be deported. "There was the possibility that the Department of Homeland Security might appeal the decision [to release me] but after legal argument, they waived their right to do so," she explained. A green card holder, Ms Hughes-Brown has lived in the States since she was 11 years old. She was arrested last July when she returned to the US from a visit to Ireland. The mother of five and grandmother of five, was apprehended by a customs official at Chicago airport when returning from a trip to Ireland on 29 July last. She was transported to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Kentucky, a six-hour drive from the family home in Bowling Green, Missouri. Her husband Jim Brown said he has spent "every waking moment" since then campaigning for her release. Her arrest came after US President Donald Trump amended the Immigration and Nationality Act as part of his so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act". It stipulates that any foreign-born resident of the US who has violated any law whatsoever at any stage over the previous two decades can be deemed inadmissible or barred from entry to the US. Ms Hughes-Brown's court record showed she had signed two cheques - totalling less than $80 - while overdrawn on her account, during a period of personal difficulty in 2015. In September, Mr Brown said that the whole situation was "just crazy". He said it was "unreal that someone can be treated like vermin for a petty crime that was committed ten years ago". A court hearing last Thursday ruled that Ms Hughes-Brown should be freed. Her legal team had over 30 character witnesses ready to testify and a letter signed by 18 US senators stating she should not be detained. The ruling came shortly after the first character witness. She was reunited with her husband on Thursday night and travelled back home to Bowling Green in Missouri on Friday, reuniting with her extended family over the weekend.

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