He’s due back this week…
An Irish 19-year-old who was brought to the United States as a child by his parents is set to be deported back to Ireland this week.
Dylan O’Riordan moved to America when he was 12-years-old with his parents, who already had green cards due to living in the US previously.
According to the All Things Considered documentary on NPR, he went into the US as a child under the Visa Waiver program, which allows people from certain countries to enter the US for a period of up to 90 days without the need for a traditional visa.
O’Riordan was born in Galway, but grew up in the US in his teenage years, meeting his girlfriend Brenna and having a child, Delilah, with her at the age of 19.
About four months ago, the pair got into an argument in a mall, and the police were called. Dylan was arrested for domestic assault and battery, despite the fact that Brenna denied it had happened.
The case came before a judge, but the judge threw out the case and Dylan was free to go, but not quite as it turned out. He was greeted at the door of the cell by officers from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and he was locked up for overstaying his visa.
In a statement to NPR, ICE said he had overstayed his welcome by seven years.
“Dylan O’Riordan … overstayed the terms of his admission by more than seven years. ICE deportation officers encountered him in September 2017 after he was arrested on local criminal charges. ICE served him with an administrative final order of removal,” the agency said.
He has been held in a jail ever since and last month married Brenna in a ceremony in the jail chapel. He will be deported back to Ireland this week, with Brenna and Delilah joining him in a move to Ireland.
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