Gabe Megahey (82), one of a group of Irish republicans known as the "deportees" who had been allowed by President Clinton to remain in America, has been ordered to leave the United States by way of a letter from the Department of Homeland Security.
Others in the group, which includes Belfast H-Block escapees Terence Kirby and Kevin Barry Artt who live openly in California, seem, so far, to have attracted the attention of the US authorities.
In 1983, Gabe Megahey was convicted in an FBI sting of trying to procure SAM missiles to enable the IRA to step up its campaign in the North. He served time in federal prison. However, he was not deported on his release in 1988. In the run-up to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, President Clinton agreed to allow IRA members on the run and other former prisoners facing deportation to remain in the US.
Now the fate of those former prisoners remains unclear.
But questions are being asked about the letter to Belfast native Megahey who has been in the US since the 1970s. It's a single page document and is unsigned.
And legal observers point to possible inaccuracies in the letter.
Megahey, now a great grandfather, has been allowed remain in the United States over the years as a result of the annual granting of 'deferred status'.
The letter said all his government benefits will cease on Oct. 23 2025. Meghaey says that means he won’t be able to afford the medications he needs to manage a heart condition once that happens. “It would cost me $4,000 to $5,000 a month to pay for it on my own,” he said. “I can’t afford that. I’ll have to go home,” said Magahey, who was born in Ardoyne. He and his American born wife, Patricia McConnell Magahey have six children, 14 grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
There is no reference to deferred status in the letter though it states that Megahey is "currently here because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) paroled you into the United States for a limited period."
The letter, which is headed "Notice of Termination of Parole," warns Megahey to "not attempt to unlawfully remain in the United States - the federal government will find you. Please depart the United States immediately."
The letter makes no reference to Megahey's status in the U.S. as a father, grandfather and great-grandfather. It makes no reference to his American family whatsoever.
Megahey came to the U.S. in 1975. His presence was the subject of an immigration case in the mid-90s which was never fully adjudicated. He served time in federal custody but was subsequently allowed remain in the U.S. as a result of a 1997 decision by Janet Reno, who was U.S. Attorney General during the Clinton administration. That decision stayed deportation proceedings against seven alleged former IRA members including Gabe Megahey.
At the time, Megahey, then 54 and working as an operating engineer for a Manhattan construction company, told the NY Times the announcement was ''a powerful step forward.''
The Department of Homeland Security letter could, it is understood, lead to a possible reopening of the long ago immigration case. But initial efforts are being directed to finding out whether the unsigned letter was possibly sent out in error and/or who precisely sent it.
Megahey lived in New York State for a number of years but in recent times has been a resident of Delaware.
