Cork man Keith Byrne has launched a new attempt to stay in the US after he was arrested by immigration officers in July and held in detention while awaiting deportation back to Ireland.
His lawyers sent a written submission to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services last night as part of a review of the case.
A judge had previously given Keith 30 days temporary release from prison to allow him to launch a legal challenge against his deportation, that reprieve has ended but he will not be re-arrested while the review is taking place, reports Cork Beo.
Keith was arrested in July by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on his way to work while his family prepared for a trip to the local waterpark.
Keith went to the US in 2007 and was on an immigration waiver programme when he met and fell in love with his American wife Keren.
The couple married in 2009 and have three children aged 4, 6 and 13. Byrne, originally from Fermoy, set up his own painting business and was given a social security number as well as work authorisation despite his immigration status.The Byrnes first petitioned to get Keith citizenship in 2010 and expected the process to be straightforward as they were married.
However, due to the constraints of the visa waiver programme and two small cannabis possession charges against Keith while he was living in Ireland, all of their petitions and appeals have been rejected.
Under the Trump administration, the deportation of unauthorised immigrants from many countries including Ireland has risen in recent years, from 26 in 2016, to 47 in 2018, according to ICE’s annual removal numbers.
