An Irish national detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been held in a Texas facility since September after overstaying a tourist visa that expired in 2009.
Seamus Culleton, originally from Glenmore in County Kilkenny, entered the United States under a visa waiver program that permitted him to remain in the country for just 90 days.
He spent more than two decades in the Boston area working as a plasterer, reports the Daily Mail.
Court documents show Culleton was arrested after police conducted a license plate check on his vehicle outside a Home Depot in Massachusetts last September.
He was initially transported to a detention facility in Buffalo, New York, before being moved to an immigration enforcement center in El Paso, Texas.
Federal Judge Kathleen Cardone dismissed Culleton’s attempt to secure his release in a Jan. 23 ruling.
The judge determined that participants in the visa waiver program surrender their right to challenge deportation, except on asylum grounds.
Judge Cardone cited the program’s design to allow expeditious entry while streamlining removal procedures.
She referenced a 2009 precedent stating that the waiver remains valid even when an individual has a pending adjustment of status application based on marriage to a US citizen.
Culleton confirmed during proceedings that began in November that he was not seeking asylum.
He had married US citizen Tiffany Smyth in April 2025 after several years of dating and had applied for a marriage-based green card.
An immigration judge initially ordered Culleton’s release on a $4,000 bail in October, which his wife paid. However, authorities overturned the decision, arguing that visa waiver entrants are not entitled to bail.
On Nov. 14, Culleton received an order of removal for violating the terms of his entry to the United States.
A deportation officer told the court he remembered serving the order because encountering an Irish detainee was unusual.
Judge Cardone stated Culleton could challenge his detention again if it became excessively long, but noted the court had no reason to believe his removal to Ireland would not be promptly executed.
She said he could file a fresh application if still detained six months after receiving the removal order.
The judge also criticized ICE for errors in the case, including mistakenly classifying Culleton’s entry visa type, which led to the bond hearing.
Judge Cardone said these mistakes “muddy the record and undermine faith in the system” and “undoubtedly they also caused great agony for Culleton and his wife, who thought for a moment that he would be released on bond and thus permitted to adjust his status.”
Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, stated Culleton has been treated fairly throughout the process.
She confirmed he entered under the visa waiver program in 2009 and failed to depart after 90 days, according to the Daily Mail.
McLaughlin said Culleton received due process and was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge on September 10, 2025.
She stated he was offered the chance to be immediately removed to Ireland but chose to remain in ICE custody.
The Department of Homeland Security is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport, with McLaughlin encouraging those in the country illegally to use the CBP Home app.
She stated that those who decline face arrest and deportation without a chance to return.
McLaughlin dismissed criticism of the Texas detention facility where Culleton is held, responding to calls from human rights groups for its closure.
She stated ICE has higher detention standards than most US prisons holding actual US citizens, the Daily Mail highlighted.
Culleton has spoken publicly about his detention, saying he is struggling with the psychological and physical toll of being locked up for nearly five months.
He described the facility as housing 72 people in a tent measuring 16 feet by 35 feet with no ceiling, featuring two rows of bunk beds and a long table.
“Just try to get me out of here and do all you can, please. It’s an absolute torture, psychological and physical torture. I just want to get back to my wife,” he told Irish politicians.
“We’re so desperate to start a family.”
