An Irish man who has lived in the United States for two decades, is married to a US citizen and runs a plastering business in Boston has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for five months, despite possessing a valid work permit and having no criminal record.
Seamus Culleton, originally from County Kilkenny, was arrested on 9 September 2025 while buying supplies at a hardware store during what his lawyer described as a random immigration sweep. He had entered the US on a visa waiver programme in 2009 and overstayed the 90-day limit, but after marrying US citizen Tiffany Smyth and applying for lawful permanent residence, he obtained a statutory exemption allowing him to work while his green card application progressed.
Culleton's detention prevented him from attending the final interview for his green card in October. His lawyer, Ogor Winnie Okoye of BOS Legal Group, said the US government was acting in a capricious and inept manner. She argued that there was no reason why Culleton should not be released to attend the interview that would confirm his legal status.
After being held in facilities near Boston and in Buffalo, New York, Culleton was transferred to El Paso, Texas, where he shares a cell with more than 70 men. He described conditions as cold, damp and squalid, with fights over insufficient food, likening the facility to a concentration camp. He told the Irish Times he had lost weight and hair and had sores and infections, and had been asking for antibiotics for four weeks.
At a November hearing, a judge approved Culleton's release on a $4,000 bond, which his wife paid, but authorities continued to detain him. ICE agents later claimed he had signed documents agreeing to deportation, but Culleton denied this, saying the signatures were not his. The judge noted irregularities in ICE's court documents but sided with the agency, and under US law Culleton cannot appeal. He is seeking handwriting experts to examine the signatures and hopes a video of his interview in Buffalo will prove he refused to sign.
Culleton's wife, Tiffany Smyth, said she had endured five months of heartbreak, stress and anxiety. His sister, Caroline Culleton, told RTÉ that detainees were rarely allowed outdoor exercise and described the situation as heartbreaking. Culleton said the uncertainty was psychological torture, and facility officials again tried to get him to sign a deportation order last week, which he refused.
