Irish student arrested for violating US visa

Authorities in the United States have arrested a 22-year-old Irish student after he violated his J1 visa by taking a trip to Mexico.

Adam El Abdaly, a Libyan-Irish man from Claremorris in Co Mayo, was arrested four days ago while trying to re-enter the US from Mexico.

His mother Annette, a native of Co Wicklow, claimed he was detained solely because he was born in Libya, a Muslim country.

Mr El Abdaly is a student at Tallaght Institute of Technology and was working in the US city of San Diego as part of the J1 visa scheme.

He could be detained for up to six weeks in the US before being deported back to Ireland.