TROY, Mo. (KMOV/Gray News) - A Missouri grandmother has been released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention after being held for nearly five months. Donna Hughes Brown, an Irish citizen and permanent U.S. resident with a green card, has been in the country since she was 11 years old. However, ICE detained her in July because of two misdemeanors she was charged with more than 10 years ago.Brown and her family had been fighting for her freedom since her detention began. Her husband appeared before Congress twice, even securing a promise from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that her case would be reviewed. In an interview on her way home in the car, Brown described her months in detention as a nightmare. She says she can still hardly believe she is free.“Like, this isn’t really happening, you know? I’m still waiting to wake up from this crazy nightmare,” Brown said.She said being behind bars was emotionally challenging and left her fearing deportation.“I was afraid that I was going to be deported most definitely,” Brown said.The family said Brown will be home for Christmas with her release, but the grandmother says she remains concerned about her future.“As far as being scared, I’m scared that this is going to continue,” she said. “It affects everybody. And nobody is safe. Nobody is safe.”When asked what she wanted to tell people in charge, Brown had a direct message.“Common sense isn’t so common,” she said. “And there’s more to people than just a number, just an ID, we are all human first.”Brown said she is ready to get home to her family and decompress after her case garnered national attention, grabbing the attention of Missouri lawmakers. During a congressional hearing, Rhode Island Democratic Rep. Seth Magaziner confronted Noem about the case.“Because of you, Jim’s wife Donna has been in prison for the last four months,” Magaziner said.Magaziner pressed Noem on why Brown remains detained, noting her only criminal history consists of two misdemeanor convictions for writing bad checks more than 10 years ago.Copyright 2025 KMOV via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.