"He was driving home after finishing work when he was detained by ICE agents in September 2025. He said he noticed a man with blue sunglasses was driving the car and then several others appeared around him. He was asked if he had a green card and he said he did not, but said he was married to a US citizen, had a work permit and was due to receive his green card."
"He described the detention centre in El Paso as "horrible", where there is little sanitation, limited food and where it was "tough to stay positive". He said he was in fear of his life from the security firm in charge, who he said were "capable of anything", and said that it is not easy to predict what will happen."
"He said there were 72 people in a tent the size of 16ft by 35ft room with no ceiling, with two rows of bunk beds on either side and a long table down the middle. He described the conditions at the camp as "filthy", the toilets and showers as "nasty", and that illnesses are rife among those being detained. He said there was competition for food and said he had "definitely" lost weight."
Seamus Culleton said he would like Taoiseach Micheál Martin to raise his case with US president Donald Trump during his White House meeting in March for St Patrick's Day. Culleton is originally from Co Kilkenny and has lived in the US for almost 20 years. He holds a valid work permit and is married to a US citizen. In September 2025 he was detained by ICE while driving home, questioned about his green card, and initially held in Massachusetts before transfers to New York and then the El Paso detention centre in Texas. He refused to sign deportation papers and described harsh, unsanitary, overcrowded conditions, fear of security staff, competition for food and weight loss.
Read at Irish Independent
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