It was supposed to be another normal visit to the United States, but a meeting with the police changed the whole story
“No one is safe from the system if it is caught by it.” Thomas – Nickname used for security – is a 35 -year -old Irish who was about 100 days detained in the United States without knowing why and without knowing when and how he would leave. When he was released, he was informed that he would be forbidden to enter the country in the next 10 years.
It was not your first trip to the United States. The technology worker and the father of three children went to the American state of Western Virginia to visit his girlfriend during last year’s fall. The trips to the United States were protected under the visa exemption program that allows tourists to remain 90 days in US territory.
It was all normally until Thomas had a health problem – severely tore his belly from his leg and got a mobility problems – just before he returned to Ireland. This return, which was planned for October, had to be postponed in medical order. A doctor informed him that he should not travel for the next eight to 12 weeks due to the risk of blood clots. This meant that it had to be more than expected, and its permission ended on December 8.
Three days after the deadline of the authorization that allowed him to be in US territory, an unexpected contact with the police led Thomas to be under the state of the United States Immigration and Customs Service (ICE). Biden administration was still in force.
A few months after his release and at home in Ireland, to whom he told his experience and what he lived during the 100 days that was detained in the United States, prevented from returning home. In addition to having passed three different prison centers, the young Irishman was forced to be retained in a federal prison due to the overcrowding of the detention establishments – even though the reason for the arrest was related to immigration issues.
The story of Thomas
“I wouldn’t have surprised me if I had gone to Guantanamo Bay or El Salvador, because it was all so disorganized,” he said. “I was at the mercy of the federal government.”
It all started with a discussion with his girlfriend. Thomas and Malone, who exposes only his middle name to protect his partner’s identity, traveled to Savannah, Georgia, to visit her family. An episode of Thomas’s mental health led the couple to discuss in the hotel room and that someone, hearing the discussion, called the police.
Thomas was accused of “falsely arresting” his girlfriend in the hotel room and was taken by police. Liberated under security, it was not long before being caught by the US immigration authorities. He was taken to an ICE processing center in Folkston, Georgia, 160 kilometers away.
On December 17 he signed a form in which he accepted the order of expulsion that had been directed to him, which indicated that he had exceeded the time authorized to be in the United States for three days. What Thomas didn’t know was that he was going to spend so long in the custody of Ice, with no answers and not knowing why he was not deported. Even with the intervention of Thomas’s lawyer, David Cheng, to allow his return to Ireland, the request was refused.
“I did everything I could with the tools available to notify the authorities that this was happening,” said Thomas, quoted by The Guardian. “I thought they would understand why I had the correct documentation. It was just a few days for medical reasons,” he added. Thomas’s idea was to leave the United States briefly.
Thomas had the necessary documentation. He had his doctor’s documents and contacted the Ireland and the US embassies and the internal security department (DHS) to extend his stay, but got no response.
After two months since the detention, Thomas believed he was time to go home, but was wrong. It was going to be transferred. It is about 50 detainees.
This time the destination was four hours away. They even headed a federal institution in Atlanta, a prison managed by the US Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Later, Thomas realized that management was poorly done. There were prisoners to move from one establishment to another, without justification, without any planning.
BOP facilities are supposedly intended for those who commit any type of federal crime. However, the Trump administration, which has sought to expand the ICE detention, has increasingly placed immigrants in these facilities – which leads to overcrowding and violation of detainees’ rights.
Thomas reports that right. The poor quality of the facilities, the way it was treated and the conditions (or few, in the case) it had.
Dirty mattresses, cockroaches, rats, lack of clothes for the detainees – they received was in bad condition (Thomas received used, torn and stained inner clothing) – deprived of being abroad and seeing the sky. These are some of the reports of Thomas, who was still forbidden to speak to his children. “I don’t know how I managed to survive,” he recalled.
The cell was shared and self -delight could only be pulled three times per hour. The food was “a disgusting crap.”
Thomas reports that employees did not know why they were there. “They were treating us exactly how they would deal with Bop prisoners, and they told us that,” Thomas said. “We were treated below humans.”
Even medical follow -up were private. Crudely and at some cost, Thomas was able to receive the psychiatric medication he asked, but other people couldn’t get the same: “I heard people shout for doctors, saying they couldn’t breathe, and the staff merely said, ‘Well, I’m not a doctor’ and they left.”
In the midst of all this, Thomas even saw a BOP guard that was thrilled “when seeing the desperation of the people who tried to talk to Ice and know what was going on.” Thomas and his girlfriend Malone also tried to help who was at Bop and needed lawyers.
In mid -March, Thomas was again transferred to an ICE installation. And without realizing it, it was taken to a flight to Ireland.
None of the responsible entities have spoken or sought to give any kind of explanation. Bop spokesman Donald Murphy merely confirmed that Thomas had been under the custody of the cabinet without referring to the conditions of the facilities.
