Tiffany Smith, wife of Seamus Culleton, an Irish national currently held in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in El Paso, Texas, has voiced her desperate wish for her husband to return home. She stated at a press conference, “I just want him home where he belongs,” describing the current situation as “overwhelming.”
Culleton was detained by ICE in September 2025 while in the process of applying for his green card. “I want him safe. Seamus is a good man; he doesn’t deserve what is going on,” Smith said, her voice filled with emotion. “It’s heartbreaking, it’s absolutely heartbreaking.” She expressed her bewilderment at how she has managed over the past five months, calling the period “awful” and something she wouldn’t wish on anyone.
Culleton’s legal counsel, Ogor Winnie Okoye, is advocating for his immediate release and permission to finalize his green card application. Smith also shared a recent observation of her husband: “He did not look well. He looked like he had lost about 30-40 pounds. He looked yellow, like someone who has jaundice.”
Who is Seamus Culleton?
Seamus Culleton hails from Glenmore in County Kilkenny, Ireland. He initially entered the United States in 2009 under the visa waiver program, a provision allowing visitors a 90-day stay without requiring a visa. Culleton is married to a United States citizen and operates a plastering business in the Boston area. He has resided in the U.S. for nearly 18 years.
Although he has had periods of undocumented status in the past, Culleton’s lawyer asserts that he was in the final stages of obtaining his Green Card and possessed a valid work permit at the time of his arrest. He was taken into custody on September 9, 2025, and has since been transferred between several ICE detention facilities, with his most recent location being El Paso, Texas. This facility is situated approximately 4,000 kilometers (about 2,500 miles) from his home in Boston.
Conditions within the Detention Center
Speaking with RTÉ’s Liveline from the detention center, Culleton described his experience. He stated he was confined to a single room with 71 other detainees, citing squalid conditions. He reported insufficient food and minimal opportunities for fresh air, sunshine, or exercise. “You don’t know what’s going to happen on a day-to-day basis,” he remarked. “You don’t know if there’s going to be riots, you don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s a nightmare down here.”
Culleton also detailed the state of the facilities, calling the showers and toilets “filthy.” He further noted that daily meals were child-sized, leading to widespread hunger among the detainees. Despite these hardships, Culleton expressed his efforts to maintain positivity. “I try my best. I talk to my wife every day; she’s my rock,” he shared. “I talk to my mother and sister most days. They’re all rooting for me.”
Governmental Response and Support
During a Dáil session on Tuesday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin acknowledged that there are “five to six” cases of Irish citizens currently detained by ICE. He affirmed the government’s commitment to providing all possible assistance to Culleton. The Taoiseach emphasized that efforts to help must be conducted in a manner that is genuinely effective and does not inadvertently complicate Culleton’s situation.
In a subsequent statement on Wednesday, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Helen McEntee, confirmed her awareness of the case. She stated that consular assistance is being provided to Culleton and his family through Ireland’s Consulate General in Austin, Texas, and its Consular Unit in Dublin. Additionally, she revealed that the Irish Embassy in Washington D.C. is engaged directly with the Department of Homeland Security at a senior level regarding the matter.
ICE’s Official Statement
In a statement provided to BBC News NI, Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, identified Seamus Culleton as an “illegal alien from Ireland,” arrested by ICE on September 9, 2025. McLaughlin explained that Culleton entered the U.S. in 2009 on a visa waiver, which allows a 90-day stay. She stated he failed to depart the U.S. and received a final order of removal from an immigration judge on September 10, 2025, after being afforded full due process.
McLaughlin further claimed that Culleton was offered repatriation to Ireland but “chose to stay in ICE custody,” taking “affirmative steps to remain in detention.” She clarified that “A pending green card application and work authorization does not give someone legal status to be in our country. Being in detention is a choice.”
McLaughlin also highlighted the U.S. government’s “self-deportation” initiative, which offers illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight home, encouraging them to take advantage of the program to preserve the possibility of returning legally. She warned that those who do not comply face arrest and deportation without the chance of return.
Regarding Culleton’s allegations of inadequate sanitary conditions and food shortages at the Texas detention center, McLaughlin dismissed these claims as false. She asserted that “ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.”