Irish tourist jailed by ICE after overstaying US visa by three days

The Irishman said that despite agreeing to deportation, he faced harsh detention conditions for 100 days.

The 35-year-old father of three, Thomas, who has asked to be identified by a nickname, was visiting his girlfriend in West Virginia last year and travelled under a visa that allows tourists to stay in the country for 90 days.

The man had planned to fly back to Ireland in December; however, this was briefly delayed due to health issues that made the man unable to fly.

Despite only going three days over his visa, an encounter with police landed the man in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody.

He was detained by Ice in three different facilities and spent 100 days overall behind bars with little clarity on his situation.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Thomas said: “Nobody is safe from the system if they get pulled into it."

Thomas agreed to be deported upon his arrest, but when President Donald Trump took office, immigration arrests rapidly increased.

As detention centres became overcrowded, Thomas spent part of his time in custody in a federal prison for criminal defendants, despite being held on an immigration violation.

In March he was sent home to Ireland and was banned from entering the US for 10 years.

Additionally, in the interview, Thomas explained the brutal conditions he faced during the ordeal.

The tech engineer never had any issues visiting the US under the visa waiver programme.

His delay in returning home came after he tore his calf and was advised by doctors not to fly due to an increased risk of blood clots.

Thomas obtained paperwork from his physician and contacted both the Irish and US embassies as well as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to seek an extension; however, he did not hear back due to short notice.

He explained: “I did everything I could with the online tools available to notify the authorities that this was happening.

“I thought they would understand because I had the correct paperwork. It was just a couple of days for medical reasons.”

Thomas revealed that the conditions in the center, as well as how he and other inmates were treated, were 'less than human'.

“The staff didn’t know why we were there and they were treating us exactly as they would treat BoP prisoners, and they told us that,” he said.

“I heard people crying for doctors, saying they couldn’t breathe, and staff would just say, ‘Well, I’m not a doctor,’ and walk away.” 

Thomas added: “You couldn’t see the outside whatsoever. I didn’t see the sky for weeks.”

He said that his experience would be 'a lifelong burden'.

“I wouldn’t have been surprised if I ended up at Guantánamo Bay or El Salvador, because it was so disorganized,” he said. “I was just at the mercy of the federal government.”