SAOIRSE32

Sunday Life
28 March 2008

Sunday Life can reveal Jamie McAllister - whose dad Malachy is facing a battle to remain in his adopted country - was sent home last month.

Although the 29-year-old has relatives in Belfast, he has been staying with pals in Dublin over fears he would be targeted by loyalist extremists.

The Belfast-born man was arrested by officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and told that he was being deported.

He was then dressed in a stranger’s clothing and given $20 before he was chained and escorted on to the plane by US federal marshals.

Like his father, Jamie McAllister had been reporting monthly to the DHS in New Jersey since December 2003, under an order of supervision.

He was denied political asylum because of an offence he committed when he was a teenager.

It’s understood he was cautioned, but not jailed for possessing a ” controlled substance”.

The deportee had been living in the US for the last 20 years after his family fled Belfast when their home was raked with bullets by a Red Hand Commando terror gang.

Mr McAllister, who was forced to leave his wife Noelle behind, is now trying to re-build his life on this side of the Atlantic.

However, it’s still not clear if the local man intends to fight against the decision.

Speaking to Sunday Life in New York, McAllister Family Campaign for Justice spokeswoman Carol Russell condemned the decision.

Said Ms Russell: “Now in his late twenties, Jamie’s youthful mistake has condemned him to deportation to a country which he, as a small boy, fled with his family under fire from loyalist paramilitaries.

“Jamie has known no life other than that of a typical American boy growing up in a New Jersey neighbourhood surrounded by his siblings, parents and a supportive Irish-American community.

“Although he is married to a US citizen, his fate was sealed. He also lived through the long legal battle his parents fought to gain political asylum for the entire family.

“Our campaign for justice has always stood firmly on the cornerstone of keeping together this close-knit family that fled from Belfast’s violent past, taking our cue from Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“But now the family must endure further tragedy as they are separated by an ocean from a son, brother and husband to whom they were not even permitted to say farewell.”

She added: “Clearly, the DHS is moved little by any such humanitarian concerns.

The young man’s grandmother, Ellen, also hit out at the US authorities to deport her grandson.

Added Mrs McAllister: “We are all just devastated and can’t believe this has happened to Jamie. The only thing he has known for the last 20 years is America. This decision is so unfair.

“They have taken a hard-working man away from his wife and family, and we think they have done this just to get back at Malachy.

“We will give him all the support we can and he’s now just trying to work through the red tape so he can get some work.”