The plight of Seamus Culleton, a 45-year-old plastering-contractor from Glenmore, Co Kilkenny, has ignited concern among Ireland’s expatriate community in the United States after The Irish Times revealed on 9 February 2026 that he remains in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention despite holding a valid US work permit and being married to an American citizen.
Culleton, who has lived and paid taxes in Massachusetts for more than two decades, was picked up during a routine sweep in Buffalo on 9 September 2025 and transferred to an ICE facility in El Paso, Texas. According to interviews conducted by The Irish Times, he shares a cold dormitory with 70 men, receives minimal outdoor time and has witnessed fights over food. In November, an immigration judge approved his release on a US$4,000 bond—paid the same day by his wife—but ICE summarily overturned the order, citing “procedural issues” without further explanation.
US immigration attorney Naomi Okoye, who represents the family pro bono, says the case underscores growing procedural inconsistency in ICE operations. “You now have one branch of the US government processing Mr Culleton’s spousal green-card application while another keeps him behind bars,” she told the newspaper. Under previous administrations, applicants in Culleton’s position were rarely detained, she added.
![Irish entrepreneur with valid US work permit held by ICE for five months]()
Amid this uncertainty, Irish travellers and their employers increasingly rely on services like VisaHQ to keep immigration paperwork watertight. Through its dedicated Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/), VisaHQ offers step-by-step guidance, document checklists and real-time status tracking for U.S. visas and ESTAs, helping applicants avoid the kinds of administrative snags that can escalate into serious legal problems.
Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that its Boston consulate is providing consular assistance but, in line with policy, cannot comment on specifics. Advocacy group Irish International Immigrant Centre in Boston warns that the episode could foreshadow a tougher enforcement climate during this US election year, urging undocumented or status-pending Irish nationals to keep paperwork up to date and carry proof of legal processes when travelling domestically.
For Irish companies seconding staff to US operations, the case is a sobering reminder that even compliant immigration filings do not guarantee trouble-free mobility. Employers are advised to maintain duplicate copies of petitions, monitor employees’ I-94 records and, where feasible, enroll travellers in company-wide travel-risk programmes that include rapid-response legal counsel.
Culleton, who has lived and paid taxes in Massachusetts for more than two decades, was picked up during a routine sweep in Buffalo on 9 September 2025 and transferred to an ICE facility in El Paso, Texas. According to interviews conducted by The Irish Times, he shares a cold dormitory with 70 men, receives minimal outdoor time and has witnessed fights over food. In November, an immigration judge approved his release on a US$4,000 bond—paid the same day by his wife—but ICE summarily overturned the order, citing “procedural issues” without further explanation.
US immigration attorney Naomi Okoye, who represents the family pro bono, says the case underscores growing procedural inconsistency in ICE operations. “You now have one branch of the US government processing Mr Culleton’s spousal green-card application while another keeps him behind bars,” she told the newspaper. Under previous administrations, applicants in Culleton’s position were rarely detained, she added.
Amid this uncertainty, Irish travellers and their employers increasingly rely on services like VisaHQ to keep immigration paperwork watertight. Through its dedicated Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/), VisaHQ offers step-by-step guidance, document checklists and real-time status tracking for U.S. visas and ESTAs, helping applicants avoid the kinds of administrative snags that can escalate into serious legal problems.
Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that its Boston consulate is providing consular assistance but, in line with policy, cannot comment on specifics. Advocacy group Irish International Immigrant Centre in Boston warns that the episode could foreshadow a tougher enforcement climate during this US election year, urging undocumented or status-pending Irish nationals to keep paperwork up to date and carry proof of legal processes when travelling domestically.
For Irish companies seconding staff to US operations, the case is a sobering reminder that even compliant immigration filings do not guarantee trouble-free mobility. Employers are advised to maintain duplicate copies of petitions, monitor employees’ I-94 records and, where feasible, enroll travellers in company-wide travel-risk programmes that include rapid-response legal counsel.
