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An Irish citizen who has been living in the United States for nearly 50 years is facing deportation from the country.
Donna Hughes-Brown (58) was arrested upon her arrival at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago in July, having returned to Ireland for a family funeral.
According to local reports, Ms Hughes-Brown is being held for writing a bad cheque for $25 ten years ago.
Her arrest is the latest incident that has occurred in light of U.S. President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
Ms Hughes-Brown, who was born in England but is an Irish citizen, moved to the U.S. when she was 11 and is a legal resident and a green card holder.
She is a full-time healthcare worker who currently resides in Missouri with her husband James Brown. The couple have five children and five grandchildren.
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Her American husband, who is an army veteran, is distraught about what he describes as an "egregious" detention by the Trump administration.
“This is wrong,” he told local Missouri TV network KMOV. “You don’t arrest 58-year-old grandmothers. It’s just wrong. She hasn’t committed crimes. You just don’t do that,” he said.
Mr Brown also believes the fact that the couple are married should protect his wife from being deported.
“It’s just not fair that you’re telling me I have to be a bachelor the rest of my life because of some stupid policy,” he added.
Legal documents for Ms Hughes-Brown’s arrest say that ten years ago, she wrote a bad cheque for $25. However, she paid the money back and was given probation.
Mr Brown said the U.S. government is now arguing that this was a “crime of moral turpitude.”
U.S. courts say a crime of moral turpitude ‘refers generally to conduct that shocks the public conscience as being inherently base, vile or depraved, contrary to the rules of morality.’
“I think it’s nonsense. I think it’s a blanket thing to catch everybody, to fill beds,” Mr Brown said.
A GoFundMe page has now been created to raise funds for legal costs and support Mr Brown’s fight to free his wife from detention.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have confirmed that it is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance.
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