Vol. 536 No. 5
134 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the proposals he has to intervene on behalf of a person (details supplied) held by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service in the USA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14708/01]
The person concerned has been convicted of a number of criminal offences in the United States. In 1996 she was sentenced to one to three years imprisonment for theft but was released on probation; in 1998, in violation of her probation, she used a credit card fraudulently, an offence to which she pleaded guilty and for which she was sentenced to serve the prison term imposed in 1996. This crime in US law constitutes an "aggravated felony" warranting deportation from the country; accordingly, she was released on parole and deported to Ireland in July 1999. However, she returned illegally to the United States two months later in violation of parole terms, was re-arrested in February 2000 and until 29 June 2001 is serving the remainder of the original sentence for theft. The case concerning illegally entering the United States and violating parole terms, federal offences to which she is pleading guilty, is scheduled to be heard in court on 18 June 2001.
The four children and a grand-daughter of this person reside in the United States.
The Irish Consulate-General in Boston has been in contact with the lawyer representing this woman and with the US authorities familiar with the case and an officer of the Consulate General will shortly visit her. I am satisfied there are no grounds on which my intervention in the judicial process could be justified. The Consulate-General will continue to monitor developments closely to see that this person is treated fairly and will give her every appropriate assistance.
