CLIONA WARD, AN Irish woman who was detained by US officials last month at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centre, is due to be released following her preliminary hearing in Washington this morning.

Her release was confirmed by local government representatives and members of Ward’s family after her court appearance.

Ward, who has been a legal resident of Santa Cruz, California for 30 years, was detained by ICE in April after returning from a trip to Ireland to visit her sick father.

Upon arrival at San Francisco airport, she was transferred to a private detention facility in Tacoma, Washington.

She was taken into custody after complying with a request to report to an immigration facility, where she presented documents showing that her decades-old drug and motor vehicle convictions had been expunged.

However, she was informed that while the expungements were recognised under state law, they were not valid under federal law.

Ward, who moved to California at age 12, has traveled abroad multiple times over the years without incident.

In a statement on social media, California Representative and Democrat Jimmy Panetta said that Cliona “will soon return to our community thanks to all who helped afford her due process.”

“We just got news that she’s going to be released in the next few hours,” Panetta added, praising the judge in the Seattle courtroom for having “done the right thing.”

“We fought for Cliona from the top down and the bottom up. I pressured officials from the White House to the Irish government. We worked with her exceptional legal team from Seattle to Santa Cruz. And we coordinated with community advocates and her family,” he said.

“We fought to make sure that all of the facts about Cliona and her case were presented so that the court could use its full discretion and do the right thing.”

Friends, family, and union supporters gathered for an early morning rally held an hour before Cliona’s hearing today.

Her sister, Tracey Ward, told RTÉ’s Prime Time that news of the release was a “huge, huge relief.”

“I was trying to maintain hope today, but I know how the system works over there, so I was very fearful for her. I’m just completely relieved,” she said.

“The outpouring of love worldwide that we’ve received has been absolutely unbelievable.”