Ciarán—pronounced KEE-ran—was detained by the immigration police after he and his wife Heaven turned up for what they thought would be a routine interview for his permanent residency January 30. The interview was conducted at the BICE offices in Denver, where the couple had stayed briefly after moving from Ireland in 2001. They live in New Jersey with their two-year-old U.S.-born daughter.

Ferry, 31, is a former member of the Irish Republican Army who served seven years of a 22-year sentence in the notorious H-block wing of Northern Ireland’s Long Kesh prison. He was released in the summer of 2000 under the Good Friday Agreement signed by the British and Irish governments along with republican and loyalist representatives.

Ferry married Heaven, who is a U.S. citizen, soon after his release. They lived in Belfast until emigrating to the United States—a decision that followed news that Ferry was on the death list of pro-British loyalists in Belfast.

At the Denver BICE office, the couple was separated after a few minutes’ interview. It was then that Heaven was told that Ferry was being taken into custody. Two hours later she was allowed to see him as he was taken away shackled and handcuffed to solitary confinement in Englewood prison.

Prison authorities claim that Ferry is a “security risk.” They later transferred him to the Denver County Jail where he is being held in 23-hour lockdown.

Ferry is charged with overstaying his 90-day visa waiver and is now under final deportation orders. His attorney Jeffrey Joseph said the charge is unfounded, and noted that Ferry had been granted a work permit by the time of the interview.

Although Ferry’s visa has expired, said Joseph, he is entitled to stay since the old Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) had already approved his application on the basis of his marriage to a U.S. citizen. Ferry is also due for a hearing in August on his request for political asylum.

In an interview conducted before the prison authorities banned contact with anyone outside his immediate family, Ferry told the Boulder Weekly that—in the words of the newspaper—“the extreme treatment he has received is a form of retaliation for his refusal to cooperate with the FBI.”

The day after his detention, explained Ferry, FBI agents visited him in his cell. “The FBI came and said, ‘You can live free if you work for us,’” he said. “They wanted me to be a spy for them against a dissident Irish republican group that was opposed to the peace process.”

The government has admitted that Ferry is under investigation for his past association with a “known terrorist organization,” the Boulder Weekly reported.

“For American citizens, this is a scary situation,” Ferry told the paper. “Even as a non-citizen, I have constitutional rights.” In February, Ferry’s application for permanent residency was summarily denied. His case is currently being appealed. Meanwhile Ferry’s lawyers have filed a petition before the Colorado district court, arguing that his detention and removal are unconstitutional.

Letters demanding the release of Ciarán Ferry and an end to the deportation proceedings should be sent to Scott Webber, District Director, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 4730 Paris St., Denver, CO 80239. For more information about the case or to help with the defense campaign contact Irish American Unity Conference at (800) 947-4282 or visit www.iauc.org and www.freeciaranferry.com  
 
 
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