Irish Businessman Detained by US Immigration Authorities for Five Months Despite Valid Documentation
An Irish national who has resided in the United States for over two decades, maintains a valid work permit, and is married to an American citizen has spent five months in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities, facing potential deportation in what his legal representative describes as a capricious and inept system failure.
Arrest During Routine Immigration Sweep
Seamus Culleton, originally from County Kilkenny in Ireland, was apprehended on September 9, 2025, during what his attorney Ogor Winnie Okoye of BOS Legal Group in Massachusetts characterizes as a random immigration enforcement operation. The arrest occurred as Culleton was returning home from work, despite him carrying both a Massachusetts driving licence and an active employment authorization document issued as part of his ongoing green card application process.
Culleton operates a successful plastering business in the Boston metropolitan area and initiated formal permanent residency proceedings in April 2025, with only a final interview remaining in his application process. His spouse, Tiffany Smyth, holds United States citizenship, further complicating the immigration authorities' decision to detain and pursue deportation against him.
Detention Conditions Described as 'Absolute Hell'
Following his initial apprehension near Boston, Culleton was transferred through multiple ICE facilities, including locations in Buffalo, New York, before being flown to a detention center in El Paso, Texas. The Irish national currently shares living quarters with more than seventy other detainees in conditions he describes as cold, damp, and squalid.
"It's like a concentration camp, absolute hell," Culleton told the Irish Times, detailing insufficient food provisions that have led to physical altercations among detainees. His family reports that during a recent video call—their first communication in five months—Culleton appeared to have lost significant weight and hair, while developing sores and infections that have gone untreated despite repeated requests for antibiotics.
Legal Battle Over Alleged Deportation Agreement
The case has become mired in controversy surrounding documentation that ICE agents claim shows Culleton agreed to voluntary deportation while detained in Buffalo. Culleton maintains he never signed such documents and that the signatures presented in court proceedings are forgeries.
"When asked at the Buffalo facility to sign a form agreeing to deportation, I refused and instead ticked a box expressing my wish to contest the arrest," Culleton explained, noting he intended to challenge the detention on grounds of his marital status and valid work authorization.
Despite a November hearing where a judge approved his release on a four-thousand dollar bond—which his wife promptly paid—immigration authorities continued to detain Culleton without immediate explanation. When his attorney appealed to federal court, ICE representatives presented documents allegedly containing Culleton's signature agreeing to removal proceedings.
Family Impact and Broader Implications
Tiffany Smyth has endured what she describes as five months of heartbreak, stress, anxiety, and anger throughout her husband's detention. "I would never wish this on anyone or their family," she stated. "I am still praying for a miracle every day."
Culleton's sister, Caroline Culleton, expressed particular concern about the psychological toll of the prolonged detention, telling RTÉ: "We've talked about what he endures physically but what about his mental health? How will he deal with this when he gets out? What long-term effect will it have on him?"
The case emerges against a backdrop of increasing consular assistance requests from Irish citizens facing deportation proceedings in the United States. Irish government figures indicate that such requests surged from fifteen cases in 2024 to sixty-five in the following year, representing a three hundred thirty percent increase.
Legal Representation Criticizes Immigration System
Attorney Ogor Winnie Okoye has sharply criticized the handling of her client's case, arguing that immigration authorities possess discretionary power to release Culleton and are acting in an arbitrary manner toward an immigrant who was following proper legal channels.
"Here's a gentleman who is a model immigrant," Okoye emphasized. "He owned a successful business, he's married to a US citizen, and he was actively pursuing the green card process through appropriate legal means."
Culleton continues to seek handwriting analysis of the disputed signatures and believes video evidence from his Buffalo interview would substantiate his claim that he refused to sign deportation documents. Under current United States immigration law, he lacks formal appeal rights but hopes these evidentiary challenges might alter his circumstances.
The case echoes previous high-profile detentions involving Irish citizens in the United States, including that of Cliona Ward, who was held for seventeen days despite possessing a green card, and an Irish technology worker jailed for approximately one hundred days after overstaying his visa by just seventy-two hours.
