Dáil debates

Thursday, 17 July 2025

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation

 

6:05 am

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)

I join in the thanks to the many workers who make this place tick. I raise the case of the 35-year-old Irish father of three who was held by the US authorities for 100 days. He overstayed his ESTA visa by three days because of a medical condition. He was then taken by ICE and held for two months before being transferred into the regular prison system. The story is horrendous and horrifying. He was freezing on many occasions and only had a thin blanket. He was hungry and the food was of a very poor quality. The mattress was dirty and there were cockroaches and mice. He mentioned a pair of used, ripped underwear, with brown stains and jumpsuits with bloodstains and holes in them. This gives a glimpse of the horror that ICE means for so many people being deported or who face the threat of deportation from America. Did the Tánaiste raise this case and the treatment of an Irish citizen with the US ambassador when he met him earlier this week?

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