A father-of-three has described how his family's holiday was shattered after he was imprisioned in the US.
Darren Mitchell spoke exclusively to RTÉ Radio 1's LiveLine radio show about how a dream trip turned into a nightmare.
Darren Mitchell tells @boucherhayes of his experience with US authorities after he was refused entry to the United States after he overstayed his visa in 1996 #Liveline
— Liveline (@rteliveline) March 27, 2018
The Irishman's ordeal began when he arrived at US border control with his wife Linda and three children.
The couple had spent months planning the trip to Orlando in Florida revealing their plans to their children on Christmas Eve.
But because Mr Mitchell had overstayed a visa in 1996 by a couple of weeks, he said he ended up in a federal penitentiary.
Speaking to host Philip Boucher-Hayes he said: "We went through a place called Primary Inspection and we spoke to a border agent and everything seemed fine.
"We gave another set of fingerprints and then suddenly his attitude and line of questioning changed and all the attention was focused on me.
"He asked when was the first time I was in the United States and I kind of hesitated and fumbled my line because of a long flight and said 2002, my wife Linda nudged me and said it was 1996.
"He asked how long I stayed for and I said three months, he took my passport and separated it from the rest, he said they would need to look into it and asked me to follow him."
The father-of-three said he had been issued a US holiday visa in 1996 but had overstayed by 'not more than two weeks'.
After two hours of questioning, the Irishman was told he would not be entering the United States and after secondary questioning was handcuffed and brought to prison.
He told RTE: "The kids saw their mam crying and they started crying."
Twenty-four hours later, Mr Mitchell says he was on his way back to Ireland, escorted to the plane by two armed guards.
"I was in handcuffs until we reached the departures area," he told the radio show.
He says his family are still in Florida trying to enjoy their holiday despite the terrible circumstances.
"I was reassured by the border agent that I will be allowed enter the US again but I will have to go in via a different means, by submitting an application to the American Embassy in Ballsbridge and applying for a 10-year travel visa," he said.
"My head's all over the place, I want to just get my family home and have a think about it."
See More: Passport Control, US, US Border
