Donna Hughes-Brown is an Irish citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for 143 days in 2025 over two misdemeanor bad-check convictions from more than a decade earlier. An immigration judge ordered her released on December 18, 2025, ruling she was not a threat to the community, and the government waived its right to appeal, ending deportation proceedings against her.1Rep. Seth Magaziner. Following Magaziner’s Advocacy, DHS Releases Wife of Combat Veteran From ICE Detention2RTÉ. Hughes-Brown Released From US Detention
Who She Is
Hughes-Brown was born in England in 1966 to Irish parents and holds Irish citizenship.3U.S. House Democrats – Homeland Security Committee. Testimony of Jim Brown She grew up in Ireland and moved to the United States in 1977 at age 11.4The Guardian. Irish Woman With Green Card Faces US Deportation Over Bad Cheque She has held and renewed a green card for decades but never obtained U.S. citizenship. By the time of her detention she had lived in the country for roughly 48 years.
She lives in Troy, Missouri, with her husband Jim Brown, a retired Navy combat veteran who served during the Gulf War.1Rep. Seth Magaziner. Following Magaziner’s Advocacy, DHS Releases Wife of Combat Veteran From ICE Detention She is a mother and grandmother. Her son serves in the U.S. Marines and was stationed in Okinawa during her detention.3U.S. House Democrats – Homeland Security Committee. Testimony of Jim Brown She has worked as an in-home health care worker.
Why ICE Detained Her
The convictions at the center of her case were two bad checks written to a local grocery store, one in 2012 and one in 2015, totaling less than $60. Some reporting put the amount at roughly $80.5BBC. Irish Grandmother Freed From US Detention Before Christmas Both were misdemeanors. She paid restitution and completed one year of probation.3U.S. House Democrats – Homeland Security Committee. Testimony of Jim Brown
The government classified those convictions as “crimes of moral turpitude,” a category under the Immigration and Nationality Act that can render a noncitizen deportable.6FOX19. Irish Woman With Green Card Held in NKY Jail Faces Deportation Over Decade-Old Misdemeanor ICE said it was “prioritizing the removal of criminal alien offenders who pose a threat to public safety and the rule of law.”7First Alert 4. Missouri Grandmother Detained by ICE Will Spend Thanksgiving Behind Bars Despite Legal Status There is no statute of limitations under the INA on convictions that can trigger removability, so decades-old misdemeanors remain usable grounds.2RTÉ. Hughes-Brown Released From US Detention
What Happened at O’Hare and After
On July 29, 2025, Hughes-Brown was returning from a trip to Ireland when she was pulled into secondary inspection at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Officers flagged her criminal history and arrested her.6FOX19. Irish Woman With Green Card Held in NKY Jail Faces Deportation Over Decade-Old Misdemeanor The Department of Homeland Security reclassified her status from “Legal Permanent Resident Alien” to “Arriving Alien,” a change her husband later challenged as unlawful, noting that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services still listed her as a legal permanent resident. ICE also labeled her a “flight risk.”3U.S. House Democrats – Homeland Security Committee. Testimony of Jim Brown
She was held at a local detention center near Chicago for five days, then moved on August 1 to the Broadview Processing Center in Illinois for three days, and then transferred to the Campbell County Detention Center in Kentucky, where she remained for the rest of her detention.8Link NKY. One Woman’s Journey Through Immigration Detention in NKY
Conditions Inside Campbell County
Hughes-Brown said the cell she was placed in on arrival was “full of bugs,” with feces on the wall and a strong odor from the drain.8Link NKY. One Woman’s Journey Through Immigration Detention in NKY The Washington Post described the holding cell as “filthy,” with insects crawling from a drain and feces streaking the walls.9Washington Post. ICE Deports Lawful Residents She was housed in a dormitory pod with local inmates rather than a separate area for immigration detainees.
She said it took a week and a half to get her prescribed blood pressure medication. Her husband alleged she was denied proper migraine medication and, in one instance, was forced to pick up and swallow a pill from the floor. She also reported inadequate feminine hygiene supplies and said she was placed in isolation twice, with bunk and mat restrictions imposed, after speaking out about conditions.8Link NKY. One Woman’s Journey Through Immigration Detention in NKY
How Her Case Reached Congress
Jim Brown testified on Capitol Hill about his wife’s detention, telling lawmakers he had “been living the American dream until July 29th when ICE illegally detained my wife Donna.”10First Alert 4. Missouri Man Takes Wife’s ICE Detention Case to Capitol Hill
The higher-profile moment came on December 11, 2025, at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing titled “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland,” with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem as the witness.11CBS News. Noem Confronted by House Democrats Over Removing Veterans Representative Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island introduced Jim Brown, who was in the gallery, and laid out the case. Magaziner told Noem that Hughes-Brown “did not come here illegally, and she has never committed any crime other than writing two bad checks totaling $80 10 years ago. She is currently imprisoned and facing deportation.”12Newsweek. ICE Releases Irish Grandma From Missouri After Kristi Noem Hearing Noem committed to reviewing the case. Eighteen U.S. senators also signed a letter calling for her release.5BBC. Irish Grandmother Freed From US Detention Before Christmas
Release and End of Deportation Proceedings
One week after the Noem hearing, on December 18, 2025, Hughes-Brown won her cancellation of removal hearing. The immigration judge ruled she was “not a threat to the community” and she was released the same day.1Rep. Seth Magaziner. Following Magaziner’s Advocacy, DHS Releases Wife of Combat Veteran From ICE Detention Thirty character witnesses had testified on her behalf.5BBC. Irish Grandmother Freed From US Detention Before Christmas Homeland Security waived its right to appeal, and the deportation proceedings were officially ended.2RTÉ. Hughes-Brown Released From US Detention She had spent 143 days in ICE custody and returned home to Missouri just before Christmas 2025.
After her release, Hughes-Brown told the BBC, “It’s important for me to be home with my family to be able to still be a steward in the community that I’m in, knowing that I can still advocate for the other folks that are still detained.”5BBC. Irish Grandmother Freed From US Detention Before Christmas She said she would not travel to Ireland again until she obtains U.S. citizenship.2RTÉ. Hughes-Brown Released From US Detention
What Her Case Shows About Green Card Holders
Green card holders returning from international travel can be treated as “seeking admission” under immigration law, which allows inspection and detention when there is a prior criminal record or an extended absence from the country. Combined with a broad statutory definition of “conviction,” that mechanism can put longtime legal residents at risk at the port of entry.13National Immigration Law Center. Green Card Holders: Know Your Rights and Risks During the Second Trump Administration Because there is no statute of limitations on removable offenses, misdemeanors that were resolved years or decades ago can still be raised as grounds for removal, as they were in Hughes-Brown’s case.