“The subject was arrested and is pending deportation proceedings back to his country of origin.”

Newshound had spotted the report in the South Texas Monitor and the BBC have followed up. If the details in both reports are true it would appear that the Maze escaper caught with out-of-date immigration documents at a US border checkpoint in Texas could only be one of a handful of people from the list of those still on-the-run. From the Monitor report

The man, whose name Border Patrol refused to release late Wednesday night, is expected to soon be transferred to British custody. Reportedly a member of the Irish Republican Army, the man is accused of making a violent escape from the Maze prison in Northern Ireland in September 1983 along with 38 other IRA members.

He was arrested at the Sarita checkpoint outside of Brownsville on Monday after he was unable to provide valid immigration documents. Agents did a background check through an international fingerprint system, which identified the man as having escaped from the prison.

Adds The RTÉ report notes

Sinn Féin said it is aware of the incident but is not yet in a position to comment.

Update The BBC report now names the man awaiting deportation as Paul Brennan and notes

A Sinn Fein spokesman said: “Pol (Paul Brennan) is not undocumented, after his extradition case was dropped in October 2000, he was granted the right to remain in the US where he has been living and working ever since. Pol and his family remain hopeful that this anomaly will be successfully resolved in the near future.”

And from the [earlier] BBC report

The US Border Patrol have refused to identify him, but said he was awaiting deportation.

It said he had been serving a 23-year prison sentence in Northern Ireland on charges of possessing a bomb and a firearm.

The man produced an out-of-date immigration document at the Sarita checkpoint near Brownsville.

The man was identified through fingerprinting after a search of his background through the Joint Terrorism Task Force and Interpol.

“The subject was arrested and is pending deportation proceedings back to his country of origin,” said the US Border Patrol.

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