Irish man held by ICE fears for his life, asks Ireland to press Trump

An Irish man held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for five months despite a valid work permit and no criminal record says he fears for his life and has appealed for help from Ireland’s government. Seamus Culleton described conditions at his detention centre in El Paso as akin to “torture” and said the atmosphere was volatile.

“I’m not in fear of the other inmates. I’m afraid of the staff. They’re capable of anything,” he told RTÉ, urging the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, to raise his case with Donald Trump during next month’s White House visit. Culleton, 42, from County Kilkenny, runs a plastering business in the Boston area.

He was arrested after buying supplies at a hardware store on 9 September 2025. He entered the US in 2009 on a visa waiver and overstayed, and after marrying US citizen Tiffany Smyth and applying for lawful permanent residence he obtained a statutory exemption that allowed him to work, his lawyer Ogor Winnie Okoye said.

United States, El Paso

seamus culleton, ice detention, el paso, work permit, statutory exemption, immigration, overstay, micheál martin, donald trump, tiffany smyth