Cheers and tears were on display Wednesday morning as community members got the news that Cliona Ward, a longtime Santa Cruz resident and union member detained last month by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, would be released later in the day from a detention center in Washington state.
Friends, family and fellow members of the Service Employees International Union had gathered outside the Santa Cruz County courthouse Wednesday morning in support of Ward, an event that coincided with her first immigration court hearing in Tacoma, Washington.
Ward, 54, is an Irish citizen and U.S. permanent resident who has lived in Santa Cruz for 30 years. She was detained on April 21 at San Francisco International Airport after presenting documents to prove that her previous criminal charges had been expunged by the state; customs officials had briefly detained Ward upon her return from an earlier trip overseas because of her previous criminal history
Around 8:30 a.m., Kayla Gomez, political organizer for the SEIU’s South Bay and Central Coast chapters, announced to a group of about 10 people that Ward was set to be released. Gomez said she received the news from the union’s statewide field director, Sergio Donis, who had been in communication with Ward’s attorney. Gomez did not have any additional details about Ward’s release…