A FORMER IRA member who had lived in the United States for four decades has “self-deported” back to Ireland, saying he feared dying in an immigration detention cell under the Trump administration.

Matthew Morrison, 69, originally from the Brandywell area of Derry, left the US on 21 July, flying one-way from Cleveland to Dublin with his wife.

His decision came after years of uncertainty over his immigration status and renewed fears of deportation following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

“I would bite the dust in an ICE holding cell,” Morrison told The Marshall Project before leaving Missouri, where he had worked for 20 years as a psychiatric nurse.

“There is nothing to stop them from deporting me to Ecuador, South Sudan or whatever. It’s really gotten insane here. It’s crazy what they are doing now, the Trump administration. You know what I mean?”

Morrison, who uses a cane after multiple strokes, first moved to St Louis in 1985 after serving ten years of a 20-year sentence for attempted murder during the Troubles.

Convicted in 1976 after an IRA raid on a Royal Ulster Constabulary officer, he had been imprisoned in Long Kesh, where he became a senior IRA figure and witnessed the hunger strikes.

His case has long been politically charged, the Marshall Project has said.

Matthew Morrison’s U.S. immigration case was once used by the Clinton administration to help solidify peace in Northern Ireland. In mid-July, the 69-year-old fled the U.S. rather than risk detention. “I would bite the dust in an ICE holding cell,” Morrison told The Marshall Project - St. Louis.

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— The Marshall Project (@themarshallproject.org) August 6, 2025 at 5:00 PM

In 2000, the Clinton administration terminated deportation proceedings against Morrison and five other former IRA prisoners.

Then-President Bill Clinton said at the time that removing the threat of deportation would “contribute to the peace process in Northern Ireland”, while stressing he did not condone their past actions.

However, the men were never placed on a path to US citizenship and continued to face restrictions, including regular check-ins with immigration authorities and the need to renew work permits.

In June, Morrison attended one such appointment in St Louis, where he was photographed before being allowed to leave.

Stories of immigrants being detained at routine check-ins heightened his fears, especially with his work authorisation due to expire in October.

His departure has left behind grown children, grandchildren and friends in Missouri. His daughter Katie told The Marshall Project that “even though he’s still alive, I feel like I am grieving.”

“It’s a huge loss for me and my children,” Katie said.

The Trump administration announced in May that undocumented migrants would be offered $1,000 (€858) and paid travel costs if they ‘self-deported’.

Campaigners estimate there are around 50,000 undocumented Irish people in the US.

“I’ve come full circle,” Morrison said before leaving.

“I came here as an immigrant and I am leaving as an immigrant, despite everything in between. The whole thing is a crazy, stressful situation.”