DUBLIN — Ireland’s government has raised the case of Kilkenny native Seamus Culleton with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after the Boston-based construction worker was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and transferred nearly 4,000 kilometers to a facility in El Paso, Texas.
Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said officials have been engaging U.S. counterparts and offering consular support to Culleton, who was arrested by ICE on Sept. 9, 2025. Culleton, originally from Glenmore, Co Kilkenny, told RTÉ’s Liveline on Monday that he fears for his life in detention.
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Culleton had previously been undocumented in the United States but, according to his family, he was in the final stages of receiving a green card and held a valid work permit at the time of his detention. He is married to U.S. citizen Tiffany Smyth and had been living in Boston before being moved to ICE custody in Texas.
“What we can do is certainly make the case where there are issues brought to our concern … and that’s what we’ve been engaging on, and we will continue to support him,” McEntee said. “I can’t imagine what he’s going through, and I know that this is particularly devastating for him and for his family.” She urged any other Irish person in similar circumstances to contact the Irish Embassy.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there are “five or six” cases comparable to Culleton’s, underscoring the growing political sensitivity around ICE detention and deportation among the Irish diaspora. With St. Patrick’s Day approaching, former Irish ambassador to the United States Dan Mulhall said the Taoiseach should raise Culleton’s case directly with President Donald Trump if the Kilkenny man has not been released by then.
Mulhall called Culleton’s long detention “surprising” and said he is certain embassy staff are doing all they can. He described ICE as “a more uncompromising organisation than what we’ve known in the past,” adding that the case could gain traction in U.S. media and challenge the perception that everyone in ICE detention is a hardened criminal — a development he said could help bring the matter to a conclusion.
Former TD and government special envoy to the United States John Deasy, however, argued the episode highlights a “lack of contacts that we have in Washington and in America generally,” saying influence rests on relationships and knowing “who is in power and turning that lever.” Mulhall rejected that characterization, saying it is “absolutely untrue” to suggest the embassy has not built bipartisan ties and that Irish officials must engage across the political aisle.
U.S. officials have defended the detention. In a post on X on Feb. 10, Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at Homeland Security, said Culleton entered the country in 2009 under the Visa Waiver Program, which allows a 90-day stay without a visa, and failed to leave. She said he received “full due process” and was issued a final deportation order by a federal judge. McLaughlin said Culleton was offered the chance last September to be removed to Ireland “but chose to stay in ICE custody.”
McLaughlin, who used the term “illegal aliens” in her post, 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.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs did not comment on any potential legal appeals in Culleton’s case, but McEntee said her department and “teams on the ground” will continue to engage with U.S. authorities. With the annual St. Patrick’s Day visit to Washington looming, Irish officials face mounting pressure at home to press for a resolution.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
