Former Irish ambassador to the United States Dan Mulhall has urged the Taoiseach to raise the case of Irish detainee Seamus Culleton directly with U.S. President Donald Trump on St. Patrick’s Day if Culleton has not been released by then, saying the episode underscores how “uncompromising” immigration enforcement has become.
Mulhall told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland he remains hopeful Culleton will be freed sooner, but said the length of his detention is “surprising” and that the Irish embassy is “doing all it can” on his behalf.
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Culleton, originally from Glenmore, Co Kilkenny, has been held for five months at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in El Paso, Texas—nearly 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from his home in Boston. He was picked up by ICE agents last September. While previously undocumented, he had a valid work permit and was in the final stages of receiving a green card, according to family and supporters. He is married to a U.S. citizen, Tiffany Smyth.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said this week that “five to six” Irish citizens are currently being detained by ICE.
U.S. officials have framed Culleton’s situation differently. In a post on X, Assistant Secretary at Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said Culleton entered the United States in 2009 under the Visa Waiver Program, failed to depart after 90 days and later “received full due process and was issued a final deportation order from a federal judge.” She said ICE arrested him on Sept. 9, 2025, and that he “was offered a chance last September to be removed to Ireland, but chose to stay in ICE custody.”
McLaughlin added: “Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to use the CBP Home app to take control of their departure. The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the US the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”
Mulhall said the case is gaining international traction and, if it reaches U.S. media, could challenge the perception “that everyone in ICE detention is a hardened criminal,” potentially speeding up a resolution. He contrasted current enforcement practices with his time in Washington, noting the embassy used to receive annual reports on Irish deportations, which were “always small,” and that “ICE is, shall we say, a more uncompromising organisation than what we’ve known in the past.”
He also rejected criticism that Ireland’s diplomatic network has lost influence in Washington. “You have to have contact with both sides of the political aisle,” he said, calling it “absolutely untrue” that the embassy has failed to maintain relationships with Republicans and Democrats. Former TD and special envoy to the U.S. John Deasy had argued the Culleton case illustrates “a lack of contacts” and waning access.
Separately, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration halted all flights to and from El Paso International Airport for “special security reasons,” without providing details. The airport, adjacent to the U.S. military’s Biggs Army Airfield and across the border from Mexico’s Ciudad Juárez, said all flights were grounded and that it was awaiting further guidance. The FAA said airspace over nearby Santa Teresa, N.M., was also restricted through Feb. 21 within a radius of roughly 10 nautical miles, excluding Mexican airspace. Culleton is detained in El Paso; authorities did not indicate any link between his case and the flight restrictions.
Additional reporting Reuters
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
