TLCUPDATE: After more than four weeks in ICE custody, Jay Smith was released from a detention center in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, E! News can confirm.
An Instagram video posted by Smith's apparent girlfriend shows the 90 Day Fiancé star leaving the facility and greeting the woman with a hug.
In response to Jay's recent legal drama, his ex and former co-star Ashley Martson tells E! News in a statement, "I'm not sure if it's karma, more like a rude awakening. Hopefully he learned to be respectful to his flavor of the day from now on."
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Jay Smith is not giving up on his dream of becoming a U.S. citizen.
The 90 Day Fiancé star has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser in an effort to hire an attorney who can help arrange his release from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. His friend, who started the account on his behalf, explains, "Jay has not received his share of the money for being exploited on this tv show and we are asking help to obtain him a lawyer."
Moreover, it seems Jay "fears" that if he is deported to Jamaica, his life may be at risk. "He is now seen as a traitor who has turned his back on his people and they will assume he has money since he was in America and on an American TV show so that keeps him at a continuously high threat for his safety if he is returned home," his friend claims.
An ICE official confirms, "On Feb. 4, 2019, he was arrested by ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations York for immigration violations and he was placed into removal proceedings. Today, July 3, Smith was encountered at Cumberland County Prison after he was arrested on local charges. Pursuant to a detainer ICE officers lodged with the facility, Smith was released to ICE custody pending immigration proceedings."
It appears that Jay is being offered little to no help by his estranged wife, Ashley Martson. On the GoFundMe's list of supporters, it shows that someone going by the name of Ashley Martson donated $5 to the cause, but it's unclear if it was the reality star.
Ashley and Jay went their separate ways in April, after the mother-of-two filed for divorce for the second time. She initially filed in January, but appeared to have a change of heart when Smith rushed to her side when she was admitted to the hospital for complications from Lupus. At the time, Jay said, "We have our differences but as long as I have life I will never let you sit alone and suffer. I love you and nothing will ever change that."
(This story was originally published Friday, July 5, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. PST)