A DONEGAL MAN who had lived in Boston for more than 15 years was deported to Ireland over the weekend, less than a month after he was detained by US immigration officials for violating his visa waiver.

The 40-year-old man was deported from Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts to Dublin on Friday evening.

He is the father of two American-born children, aged nine and ten, and the former owner of a small construction company near Boston.

As previously covered by The Journal, the man, who does not wish to be identified, had overstayed his travel visa, but had joined the waiting list for green card applications three years ago.

He was arrested last month, and had spent some time in a detention centre run by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a driving-related conviction.

The man is now attempting to find a way to “continue to be a loving father” to his children in the US, according to Boston-based lawyer John Foley.

“His personal nightmare is over,” Foley said.

He added that his client “just wants to move on with his life”.

He is gutted knowing the relationship with his children will not be what he wants it to be.

Foley said he had pushed for his client’s release in the US under 24/7 monitoring with an ankle bracelet.

“They just said no,” Foley explained, adding that officials showed no hesitation in denying the request.

Foley previously told The Journal that there was “no flexibility” from US officials in their decision to detain the man, noting that ICE officers had been more willing to compromise in previous years before the Trump administration.

“My biggest frustration is the inability to speak with anyone of substance inside ICE,” Foley said. 

“You send emails that are ignored, leave voicemail messages that are never returned and repeatedly go to someone’s office all to be ignored. 

“This administration is different – this administration is dangerous,” Foley said.

The lawyer added that there is a new mentality among law enforcement and immigration officers under “Trump 2.0”.

“They’re intent on instilling fear, and it’s working – they’re proud of it. I’ve never seen anything like this before; we’re in a whole new era now,” Foley said.

Deportation figures under the Trump administration have not yet been made public by ICE, but NBC News has reported that ICE deported 11,000 migrants in February, just over 12,300 in the first four weeks of March, and approximately 17,200 in April.

According to Foley, fear of deportation is growing among Irish immigrants and other diasporas in the US.

“It’s not just the Irish, it’s everybody – I’m getting calls from people I represented 20 years ago who really have nothing to worry about, but they have prior criminal convictions, so they’re stressed,” Foley said.

He described Trump’s immigration and deportation policies as “un-American.”