Cliona Ward, Irish woman held in US detention centre after family visit, released

Cliona Ward, the
US
green card holder and Irish citizen who had been arrested and imprisoned in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centre, was released after her preliminary hearing took place in Tacoma, near Seattle, on Wednesday morning.
Ms Ward (54) was transferred to the private detention facility after returning to San Francisco following a visit to see her gravely ill father in Co Cork in April.
She was arrested after reporting, as requested, to an immigration facility with documents proving that records for decades old drug and motor vehicle convictions had been expunged. However, she was informed that those expungements, while valid at state level, did not apply at federal level.
Ms Ward moved to California at the age of 12 and has made numerous trips abroad since without any issue.
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Supporters of Ms Ward have vowed to support others who become embroiled in the punitive US system.
US congressman for California's 19th district Jimmy Panetta praised the collective pressure put on government representatives in her case.
The successful petitioning by her Santa Cruz based attorney, Michael Mehr, to have the state charges against Ms Ward vacated in a process applicable at federal level may have helped facilitate the swift resolution.
'Cliona Ward's release demonstrates what can happen when we come together to fight for transparency, due process, and justice,' Mr Panetta said after her release was ordered.
'We fought for Cliona from the top down to the bottom up. I pressured officials from the White House to the Irish Government. But this case is also an example of this administration doing the wrong thing when it comes to its overreaching deportation policies that can sweep up people like Cliona.'
Cliona Ward. Photograph: Facebook
The court order comes after a harrowing few weeks for the Ward family.
'None of us have really been able to sleep properly while this has been going on,' Cliona's sister Tracey Ward told RTÉ on Wednesday.
'I'm just completely relieved. I think with Cliona gaining her freedom she will, and the rest of our family will, try and amplify our voices in support of all the people who are going through this unjust system.'
Family, friends and union colleagues of Ms Ward's had gathered for an early morning rally an hour before the hearing, which was scheduled for 8.30am, local time, on Wednesday.
Her sister, Orla Holladay, told the gathering Ms Ward was a 'humble, private and gentle' person who is 'the primary caretaker for her chronically ill son, Malachi. Today I speak for my sister but also speak for all of the men and women who are unlawfully imprisoned in these for-profit organisations – and the innocent children who are caught in the ugly crossfire.'
A spokesperson for the Services Employees International Union, which represents workers in healthcare, property services and airport sectors across the United States, and of which Ms Ward is a member, outlined their reasons as to why the charges against her should be dismissed.
Almost half of the union's 500,000 strong membership are immigrants and many of those are on temporary protected status.
'We believe that Cliona's detention is not only cruel and unjust but also represents a failure in our cruel, inhumane and broken immigration system,' said the spokesperson.

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Irish Times

18 hours ago

• Irish Times

How the culture war is remaking advertising

During this year's Super Bowl, American viewers were given a blast from the past when food chain Carl's Jr once again rolled out an ad featuring scantily clad women, having ditched its long-time 'burgers and bikinis' approach in 2017. Bud Light, which attracted boycotts after working with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in 2023, put out a campaign featuring guys drinking beer and barbecuing big steaks for a lawn party in a stereotypical US suburban cul-de-sac. For many marketers, these sort of ads were the latest signs that big US and international brands, after years of talk about purpose and inclusion in their corporate messaging, are now playing to the Maga crowd. Some have gone even farther; restaurant chain Steak 'n Shake, for example, sponsored a recent bitcoin conference, and tweeted posts appealing to Tesla Cybertruck drivers. Its pinned post on X features US health secretary Robert F Kennedy jnr . 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The nervousness means advertising is shying away from the role it has played for decades in expanding mainstream culture to include historically less-represented people, including those marginalised by their race, sexuality or disabilities. Often this was ahead of its time; in 1994, the year a gay couple appeared in a US TV commercial for the first time, more than a dozen US states still had laws that prohibited gay men from having consensual sex. The risk for an industry that still celebrates diversity in its own ranks is that the sort of free thinking that can underpin creativity will be unduly muted at a time when the traditional industry roles are under assault from the emergence of AI. 'There's been a shift towards the more reassuring, more run of the mill. That's what's going to happen until things settle. It's very, very uncertain,' says one agency boss. 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Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys and its shareholder partners most recently claimed victory after IBM moved to 'viewpoint neutrality' in its advertising policies last month, adding to a list that they say includes PepsiCo and Johnson & Johnson . These companies did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement to the FT, the Alliance Defending Freedom said that IBM was the latest company to take steps to 'prevent future viewpoint-based discrimination', adding: 'No corporation should be involved in or allow for censorship at any level. We hope every company ... recommits to doing its part to protect freedom of speech and thought in our nation and throughout the world.' An antitrust lawsuit filed last year by X against Global Alliance for Responsible Media, a brand safety initiative backed by advertisers and ad agencies, as well as some companies, accused them of co-ordinating an 'illegal boycott' of the site. The initiative, which was part of the World Federation of Advertisers, has since shut down. The coalition of advertisers, including Nestlé and Shell , last month asked a federal judge in Texas to dismiss the lawsuit, saying that their decisions to suspend advertising on X were made independently and reflected concerns over the platform's content moderation practices. 'There is a genuine fear of reprisal, based on not just opinion, but actually some real fear of legal ramifications at some point down the line which people have to take seriously,' says a UK marketing head. 'Because they have a duty of care to ensure that they're not creating an illegal jeopardy by doing some of these things.' Musk – although now out of the White House – is still seen to have considerable sway over the direction taken by regulators in the US. 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Even if there is yet to be any tangible impact from these threats, the combination of lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny has had a chilling effect on brands and DEI, ad bosses say. Richard Exon, co-founder of independent creative advertising agency Joint, says that commitment to DEI 'has recently become a politicised position' in the US. Larger businesses were facing the challenge of achieving broad appeal in a highly polarised media landscape, he adds. 'It's not surprising if these larger businesses proceed more cautiously on social justice issues.' Some marketers say they are being more closely monitored by their boards about delivery, with the focus now on effectiveness of campaigns that can yield tangible sales. Brands are often working with tightened budgets, says one UK advertising boss, meaning that 'anything unrelated to pure growth, including purpose, could be seen as a distraction and therefore harder to gain traction within a business'. But the move in the cultural landscape has also shifted marketing budgets, with organisers of Pride marches and other LGBT+ events saying that there has been a retreat from corporate sponsors this year in the US and the UK. In New York, a number of sponsors such as Mastercard did not renew their top-tier corporate sponsorships of Pride. Mastercard said that, this year, it was 'proudly participating in the NYC Pride March and related events with a strong employee-led presence and a community engagement programme'. [ A quarter of major US corporate backers pull out of Dublin Pride over Trump fears Opens in new window ] Polly Shute, founder of Out & Wild, the UK's largest LGBT+ festival and former board member of Pride in London, says that corporate sponsors have been less keen to back events. Plymouth and Liverpool have both pulled their Pride march events – the latter blaming 'significant financial and organisational challenges' at a time of rising costs. Shute says that, in 2017, Pride 'was turning brands away as they did not meet criteria' but 'it's very different now'. She notes that some brands and companies had stopped changing their logos to Pride colours on social media such as LinkedIn. In the UK, these include firms that have extensive operations in the US such as WPP, Linklaters and Freshfields. Linklaters said its 'commitment remains unchanged. We are proud to be celebrating Pride at Linklaters ... with events and activities taking place across our global offices'. Freshfields has used other Pride branding this year, including a Pride banner across its LinkedIn page. Shute says that demand for influencers to be used in external marketing, and for speakers for internal corporate events, has also been more muted this year. 'It used to be that the social media was really positive but now the reaction has scared off sponsorship as they don't want to be associated with the negativity.' However, dog treats company BarkBox showed there are dangers in shifting positions. Matt Meeker, the group's chief executive, was forced to apologise after a leaked Slack message suggested the company would pause paid advertising for its Pride kit, with the 'current climate' making such promotions 'feel like a political statement'. Target, the US retailer, has also been boycotted by some customers since February owing to its decision to scale back DEI initiatives. 'Target is another example recently where a changed policy has resulted in people voting with their wallets and from a purchase perspective,' says FCB's Turnbull. The People's Union USA, a grassroots consumer-led group, has organised 'economic blackouts' against other companies such as Amazon, Walmart and General Mills. [ Meta introduces advertising to WhatsApp in push for new revenues Opens in new window ] 'This blackout isn't symbolic. It's strategic. We are the economy. We are the machine they profit off of. And it's time to show them what happens when the machine stops,' it says. These shifting cultural sands – and the now ever present risk of alienating customers on any side of a political or societal divide – means that it is in brands' interest to play it safe, according to marketers. 'People are just leaning back, particularly our big clients,' says one ad boss. 'There's just less of a focus on purposeful, super-targeted work right now.' Some point to a focus on humour or universal themes as risk-free ways to get to the biggest audiences. The shift is particularly sensitive at the Cannes Lions festival, which for several years was seen by some as having moved potentially too far towards social issues in the sorts of advertising work it celebrated and rewarded. In Cannes, much of the talk was about how AI would replace a lot of the work carried out by creative teams, resulting in unoriginal and bland advertising campaigns, exacerbating the shift to safety-first approaches. 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The Journal

a day ago

• The Journal

Minister criticised after recent deportation flight took off without human rights monitor on board

A GOVERNMENT CHARTER flight that flew to Nigeria earlier this month has been criticised after it emerged that no independent human rights observer was on board the flight. Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon accused the government of 'skipping independent scrutiny' in favour of 'theatre' by allowing the flight to make its journey without a monitor on board. These independent human rights observers were on board the government's two previous charter flights, which saw a combined 71 people deported to Georgia. This was followed by a special charter flight this month where some 35 people, including five children, were deported from Ireland to Nigeria. The flight was heavily criticised afterwards by a Dublin school and by a Clondalkin community group as each had members of their community on board. In response to a Parliamentary Question from Gannon about the makeup of the professional personnel involved in the flight, Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan disclosed that 'due to technical reasons outside the control' of the Department of Justice, the human rights observer was not able to accompany the flight to Lagos. O'Callaghan defended himself from criticism of the flights, telling Gannon that planning and consideration had been given to 'ensure the safety and wellbeing' of the people being removed from Ireland to Nigeria. Role of human rights observers The role of the independent human rights observer is to monitor the use of force and restraints for deportees on the flight. Such observers are currently not mandatory for charter deportation flights in Ireland. However, there are requirements to have such monitors so as to ensure fundamental rights are upheld during forced returns of people. These requirements feature in the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT) but Ireland remains the only EU member state yet to ratify the protocol , despite having signed it in 2007. It is included in the current Programme for Government . They had been present at Dublin Airport before the flight took off and later received a debrief from gardaí who were on board the plane, according to O'Callaghan. In addition to Garda personnel, the returnees on the flights were accompanied by a doctor and an advanced paramedic. The flights are carried out by the Garda National Immigration Bureau. Advertisement In his response to Gannon, seen by The Journal , O'Callaghan said the independent observer was briefed by gardaí afterwards. 'For the charter flight to Nigeria the observer was present in Dublin Airport to monitor the operation prior to departure of the charter flight on 4 June 2025 and meet with returnees including the families concerned,' O'Callaghan said. 'However, due to technical reasons outside the control of my Department, the observer was not able to accompany the flight to Lagos. The observer has been debriefed by a nominated Garda escort on the operation of the flight.' Gannon had asked about the number of professionals present on board, including medical staff, child protection professionals and psychological support personnel. The Dublin Central TD told The Journal that the minister needed to clarify whether he believes a human rights observer is 'essential' for the flights. If so, then O'Callaghan needed to outline 'why did he let the Nigeria flight go ahead' without an observer. He repeated a criticism of the minister's use of the flights as a form of PR and a submission to anti-migrant demonstrations seen over recent years. 'Having the Gardaí who carried out the deportation 'debrief' the observer afterwards isn't oversight, it's theatre,' Gannon said. 'This flight involved children. The State has a legal and moral duty to safeguard their rights at every stage, not just when it's convenient. Skipping independent scrutiny when children are being forcibly removed strips away any pretence of a rights-based approach. What we're seeing is a government more committed to appearing tough than doing things properly. Gannon added that the deportation flights will 'go down as a shameful episode' in the life of the current government. 'It may play well in certain corners of the political world, but anyone with a shred of decency can see how wrong this was,' Gannon claimed. The Fianna Fáil minister said he accepted that deportations were 'challenging' for the people involved. He added that they had received legal orders to leave the State and that the flights were required to ensuring that Ireland's immigration system is 'robust and rules based'. He noted that any person who has been ordered to leave the State is committing a criminal offence and 'can be arrested without warrant if they come into contact with An Garda Síochána'. The 2,113 deportation orders signed this year are nearing last year's total of 2,403 orders. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal

Irish Times

a day ago

• Irish Times

Man punched retired judge after saying ‘you put me in jail for nothing', court hears

A Co Clare man told a retired District Court judge 'you put me in jail for nothing' before punching him outside a cafe, a court has heard. At Ennis District Court, Jamie O'Connor (44), of Laurel Lodge, Clare Road, Ennis, has appeared in connection with the alleged assault of retired District Court judge Joseph Mangan last Saturday afternoon. Mr Mangan, who is in his early 80s, served on the bench for 27 years and was the assigned District Court judge for Clare from 2001 to October 2011, when he retired aged 67. Mr O'Connor is charged with assault causing harm to Mr Mangan at Barrack Court, Ennis, on June 14th, contrary to section three of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. READ MORE Judge Alec Gabbett said this is 'an extremely serious alleged offence' where a man in his 80s was allegedly assaulted for 'carrying out a public duty when he was a judge'. Judge Gabbett said there is a possibility of other charges to follow. In a contested application for Mr O'Connor's bail, Sgt John Burke told the court it will be alleged Mr Mangan was having a coffee on the afternoon of June 14th when he was approached by Mr O'Connor, who allegedly said: 'You put me in jail for nothing.' Sgt Burke said it is alleged Mr O'Connor punched Mr Mangan after the brief interaction. He said the accused fled the scene. He said Mr Mangan was treated at the local injuries unit for possible concussion and dizziness. Sgt Burke said Mr O'Connor was later arrested, making no admissions and blaming alcohol 'for his memory loss'. Sgt Burke said gardaí were opposing bail. Judge Gabbett refused bail due to the seriousness of the charge. Judge Gabbett granted legal aid for solicitor Stiofan Fitzpatrick to represent Mr O'Connor. Mr Fitzpatrick asked for bail to be granted as he said it will take months for directions to be made in the case. Judge Gabbett remanded Mr O'Connor in custody to appear before court next Wednesday.