MATT Morrison, a member of the group known as the deportees and a man who served his St Louis, Missouri community for more than twenty years as a psychiatric nurse, has self-deported – this, according to the Derry native, to avoid long imprisonment in an ICE facility.
After 40 years in America, Morrison, who is married, is a father and grandfather, and a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, left the United States on July 21. He told the Marshall Project that he voluntarily left the country due to fear of detention by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE.
According to a Marshall Project posting Morrison, who is 69, stated: "I would bite the dust in an ICE holding cell. 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, a onetime IRA member who became a high profile advocate for the peace process, told the Marshall Project that although his work authorization expires in October he didn't want to spend the next few months in anxiety worrying about being deported.
Along with his wife, Morrison flew to Ireland out of Cleveland on Monday, July 21. He had a one-way ticket.
Morrison's self-deportation was reported in a number of media outlets including the Missouri Independent and Newsweek.
The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, in a statement issued Tuesday, August 5, lamented the departure of Morrison from his adopted homeland.
The statement said: "It is with deep concern and sadness that we share the personal story of Matt Morrison, the husband of our National Vice President, Sandi Swift. Matt has been in the United States for 40 years. As part of the Good Friday agreement, Matt was a C14 Classification and has an Employment Authorization document that is up for renewal this fall.
"Matt has been a better non-citizen than most citizens. He served the St Louis community as a nurse working in many specialized areas and with his mental health background taught police officers to recognize a mentally ill suspect and how to de-escalate the situation.
"Matt is the perfect example on how immigrants make America a great country. It is a loss to our country, when immigrants like Matt live in fear of their future with the current immigration system. Matt suffered a stroke and realized he would not survive a detention holding center and the fact that they can deport you anywhere.
"Matt made the difficult decision to self-deport to Ireland, the land of his birth and a place where he could find greater safety and stability in light of a complex and uncertain immigration situation in the United States.
"While laws must be respected, we firmly believe that immigration policies should also reflect the values of fairness, human rights, and family unity that our nation was founded upon.
“This heartbreaking choice was made out of love for his family and concern for his health and wellbeing. Matt’s story reflects the broader realities faced by many individuals and families who are caught in a system that too often lacks both clarity and compassion.
"While laws must be respected, we firmly believe that immigration policies should also reflect the values of fairness, human rights, and family unity that our nation was founded upon.”
Michael Culbert, director of republican ex-prisoners’ group Coiste na nIarchimí, said: “The past few years has seen a major push against Irish republican former prisoners living in the USA. That push really began back in the 1980's when Joe Doherty fought for many years (whilst held in a US federal prison) against being extradited from USA but was returned to serve a life sentence in Long Kesh.
“In 1998 Senator George Mitchel oversaw the Good Friday Agreement – a major sector of it seeing the release of all politically motivated prisoners from the prisons – thus the Irish, British and US governments indirectly acknowledged the political nature of their charges. We had thought then that such an agreement would have at least permitted political former prisoners already in the USA to remain and for others to be able to apply to enter.
“For some time that was the case. Today there is a total block on anyone with any sort of prison record, including political charges, entering or remaining in the USA and in fact that now applies to partners, children and incredibly grandchildren of former political prisoners.”
