A former Irish political prisoner who fought deportation for over two decades after fleeing loyalist death threats with his family is believed to have been put on a plane back to Ireland by US authorities. Belfast man Malachy McAllister, who holds an Irish passport, is expected to arrive on a flight into Dublin later today, Wednesday 10 June.
A spokesperson for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO) confirmed his deportation, and accused him of “terrorism related crime”.
Malachy, now a 62-year-old grandfather, was originally jailed over two attacks by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) on British Crown Forces during the 1981 hunger strikes.
Released in 1985, a subsequent loyalist gun attack on his family home sparked their journey in 1988 to Canada and then the United States, where they lived in New Jersey.
He is originally from the Ormeau Road area in Belfast and has been seeking political asylum in the US for over 24 years.
His wife Bernadette passed away in the US and most of his children and grandchildren still live there.
He is also recovering from injuries suffered while he was cycling at the beginning of June.
A last-minute letter from 15 US senators urging President Trump to allow him to stay in the country was unsuccessful.
Prior to his deportation, Malachy said: “The truth is there is no rhyme nor reason why the Trump Administration has chosen to deport me after 24 years in America.
“In fact last November President Trump suspended my deportation and ordered the White House Chief of Staff Mike Mulvaney (now Special Envoy to Northern Ireland) to resolve my case. This was confirmed in a tweet by Congressman Peter King a long time supporter of mine and the GFA.
“I have proved for the 32 years I have been out of Ireland that we are good people and law-abiding citizens of the world.”
On Tuesday, Malachy handed himself over to Homeland Security for the journey home, leaving behind his family. Prayers were said and bagpipes played as he presented himself for deportation in Newark.
New Jersey senator Bob Menendez slammed the deportation.
“Today is a sad day for the McAllister family and New Jersey’s Irish community,” he said.
“Deporting a community leader who poses no national security or public safety threat is not only a clear injustice, but also contrary to our nation’s values.
“By forcefully deporting Mr McAllister to a place he fled because his life was put in danger, the Trump Administration is showing the immorality of their indiscriminate immigration policies.”
Judge James F. McKay III, President of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, said he had learned of the deportation with “profound sadness”.
In a statement, he said: “In this action, we have been forced to say goodbye to a member and a brother; his American born U.S. citizen grandchildren have been deprived of their grandfather, the Northern Ireland Peace Process has lost a voice in America, the U.S. economy has lost an entrepreneur who created two successful tax-paying/job-producing businesses.
“However, the most significant loss of all is that we have lost part of the American legacy of the United States being a refuge from oppression and a land of new beginnings.”
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has urged voters to “not give in” following a decision by the parliamentary parties of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party to support the formation of a coalition government in Dublin which would see FF leader Micheál Martin become the next Taoiseach. Following a deal by the party leaders, the three parliamentary parties have announced that they have backed a draft Programme for Government, which will now go to the members of each party for their endorsement or rejection.
Mary Lou McDonald attacked Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar and Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin for excluding her party from the coalition talks.
The Sinn Féin leader said that a right-wing government does not represent the change “that people voted for in February” and said it would “protect the status quo”.
“Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin set about excluding Sinn Féin from government talks and, in doing so, they excluded the demand for change that came from the people. Grassroots members of the Green Party know this is true. Grassroots members of Fianna Fáil also know this is true.”
On Monday afternoon, Mr Martin, Mr Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan signed off on a well-flagged deal. The document promises a number concessions to the centre-left Green Party, but many have already been criticised for rehashing existing policy plans or being tokenistic.
Addressing party supporters and progressives generally, Ms McDonald said “many people are disappointed watching Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil pushing back change.
“Many might feel like giving up on change. I know you are fed up of seeing the same old parties grabbing power to suit themselves. It’s okay to be fed up at times.”
But she added: “I urge you not to give up. Do not be disheartened by those who want to have everything their own way. Do not turn-off or tune-out. Do not be defeated.”
Despite his party languishing in the low teens in terms of party support, Micheál Martin, a veteran of four disgraced Fianna Fáil governments, is incongruously set to become the next Taoiseach. Leo Varadkar will be his Tánaiste, before the two rotate the positions in December 2022.
The deal requires a tricky two-thirds majority support of the Green Party membership. Tonight 13 members of its 17-strong parliamentary party gave their approval.
There have been rumblings in Fianna Fáil, as over 50 councillors launched a campaign to “defeat” the newly agreed programme for government.
But barring a surprise over the coming weeks, Sinn Féin now looks set to become the main party of opposition in the Dublin parliament.
Ms McDonald today laid down a marker when she said her party “will not allow Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to waste the potential, the possibilities and the aspirations of our people.
“There is a better way and a fairer way. That means putting people and communities first. Sinn Féin will defend the change that the people voted for. Sinn Féin will continue to stand up for workers and families.”
STATEMENT OF UNITED STATES SENATOR AND DEMOCRATIC SENATE LEADER CHARLES E. SCHUMER ON THE DEPORTATION OF MALACHY McALLISTER
“President Trump’s deportation of Malachy McAllister is profoundly unjust and serves no rational public purpose or positive benefit. Mr. McAllister has been a valued member of the Irish American community ever since seeking asylum in the United States following an assassination attempt on him and his family during the Troubles. He is a father and grandfather to U.S. citizen children, a strong supporter of the Irish peace process and a productive businessperson. Mr. McAllister has unfairly faced deportation for years and the looming threat has been tragically realized today.
“For years, I and a bipartisan group of senators and House members, including Rep. Pete King and Sen. Bob Menendez and Cardinal Dolan, have fought against Malachy McAllister’s deportation, supporting both administrative and legislative remedies to keep Mr. McAllister in the U.S., where he belongs. We have implored President Trump – and presidents before him – and U.S. DHS secretaries to intervene in McAllister’s deportation case. In the past, rational and just decisions to defer action have been granted. But, appallingly, not this time. Additionally, for ICE to ignore the critical injuries Mr. McAllister suffered from being hit by a car while riding his bike and to move forward with this unfair, unjust deportation is a terrible mistake.
“The deportation of Malachy McAllister is grave injustice by President Trump. And, sadly, it is part of President Trump’s reflexively hardline and cruel immigration policy towards would be immigrants and asylum seekers that has caused untold pain and misery to countless people like Malachy McAllister, who, if allowed and granted some measure of mercy and common-sense administrative action, would only make America a better place.”
—U.S. Senator Charles Schumer
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For Immediate Release June 10, 2020
ENGEL STATEMENT ON MALACHY MCALLISTER
Washington—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement on Malachy McAllister being taken into custody for removal from the United States:
“I am outraged that the Trump Administration is kicking Malachy McAllister out of the United States. He first fled Belfast in 1998 during the Troubles and came to this country fleeing attempts on his life and the lives of his family. Now, despite strong bipartisan and bicameral advocacy from Congress about his model contributions to American society, Mr. McAllister is being forced from his home of more than two decades in the midst of a global pandemic and while he suffers from a broken collarbone.
“Malachy McAllister is a staunch supporter of the Good Friday Agreement and an invaluable member of the vibrant Irish-American community in New York and New Jersey. By following through with his removal, President Trump and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Wolf are forcing Malachy to leave behind his American-born children and grandchildren and breaking with decades of bipartisan agreement across Republican and Democratic Administrations. I consider myself lucky to call Malachy McAllister a friend and have been honored to fight for his continued residency in the United States. I will continue to fight to pass legislation to allow Malachy and his family to be reunited in the United States permanently.”
