"They put ankle shackles and handcuffs on me"
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Who is Evan Deveney and why did he call into Liveline?
0818-715-815. This is Liveline on RTE Radio 1.
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Good afternoon, you are very welcome to Live Line O eight seven four eight four double eight double eight is the WhatsApp number. You can send an email LiveLine at RTE.ie or give me a call on O eight one eight seven one five eight one five and Evan Defenny is on the line. Evan, you're very welcome to the show. How how long have you been back in Ireland?
Uh just landed back there Tuesday morning, Kieran, so um haven't even been back a a week yet, but just delicate to be home, thank God.
How how would you describe your your one year in the States?
Um, yeah, it was it w it was brilliant, to be honest. Like it was it was what I wanted to do was just, you know, go off and travel for a year. Um I'm only twenty three, so It was something that my parents wanted me to do as well as go off and see a bit of the world and you know, America was always a thing that I wanted to go and see, so it was brilliant. I you know, I saw what I wanted to saw and I done what I'd done. So yeah yeah, it was very enjoyable.
H how would you describe what it's like to be detained by ice?
Absolutely horrible. You know, it's such a you know, you're you're treated like a criminal and You know, the days are long inside and It's uh it's it was definitely a real eye opener and it was something that I never thought would happen to me, but you know, it's it's just one of these things that happen but Yeah, it w it wasn't uh wasn't a great experience now, to be honest.
Okay, but let let's we'll re we'll rewind the clock back a little bit. So it was September last year you went over, is it?
Yeah, moved over September sixth, two thousand twenty five. I moved over to New York. Um, just with the intention of I suppose See in New York again. I was over there before for summer playing playing hurling like a lot of young lads probably would've done before, um, on J ones and stuff like that, but I had the intention of just going over there and I thought Chance of me I'm working for a while in the buildings in New York and um yeah, it just came the decision then once my visa was coming out uh last December. But I just I had a job done at that point and, you know, things were going well and I was in a good routine and, you know, I was happy over there so I made the conscious decision to I suppose overstay the visa, um, like a lot of lads I suppose, but
It yeah I just felt like it was the right d thing for me to do at the time. Um and yeah it was just a decision that I made.
So uh y you went on the the the ninety day holiday visa, was it? And it it expired then in December and and you decide to stay on. 'Cause w you know, w you hear of lots of of people like this undocumented Irish is how we describe uh people like that. It's funny the language. If it was the other way around in Ireland we call them illegal immigrants, but w we might come back to that. But um Um lots of them have been there for years. You you decided to do it, Evan when you know, these ice crackdowns were already in the news. So y you must have been conscious of that or thinking about the possibility this mightn't go well, were ya?
I was conscious of it. Yeah, Kieran. But you know, it's it's one of those things you don't actually think it's gonna happen to you until, you know, it happens and Um i it was just it was just one of those things, look, it was a risk that I was willing to take because like I said, America was always a thing that I wanted to go and see and You know, just the V the visas aren't really there for, I suppose young Irish lads who want to go over there and work in the in in construction and stuff like that. Like it's it's not, you know, very well advertised. Like the only options you have really is to I suppose go over there and You know, over say there is obviously visas there, J ons and stuff like for lads who want to go over there for a year with college degrees.
But you know, there was no
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who is Evan Deveney and why did he call into Liveline?
0:00–8:49
2
How does Evan describe his year travelling and working in the United States?
8:49–16:48
3
What made Evan decide to overstay his 90‑day holiday visa?
16:48–25:14
4
How did ICE catch Evan at the Nashville airport and what happened next?
25:14–34:29
5
What were the living conditions like in the ICE detention centres in Nashville, Memphis and Louisiana?
34:29–40:02
6
How did Evan eventually secure legal help and get released back to Ireland?
40:02–47:27
7
What are callers saying about the treatment of undocumented migrants and the impact of Trump’s comments on a united Ireland?
47:27–55:00
8
How do the panelists debate the future of Irish unity and the Good Friday Agreement?
55:00–1:06:07