Irish man detained by ICE for five months is sharing a cell with 70 men
An Irish man who has lived in the US for 20 years and is married to an American woman has been detained by ICE for five months.
Seamus Culleton, from County Kilkenny, had lived in the US for two decades when he was arrested last September by ICE.
He has no criminal record and runs a successful business in Boston, but was arrested in September by ICE agents.
After telling them he was married to a US citizen, had a work permit and was in the process of getting his green card, he was detained.
It’s been five months since he was taken to an ICE facility in El Paso, Texas, and he says he ‘doesn’t know how much more’ he can take.
‘It’s an absolute torture, psychological and physical torture. I just want to get back to my wife. We’re so desperate to start a family,’ he said.
Seamus said he’s shared a 16x35ft tent with 72 other people and has lost weight due to the harsh conditions in the Texas facility.
‘I’ve had barely any outside time, no fresh air, no sunshine. I could probably count on both hands the number of times I’ve been outside,’ he said.
He also says he’s afraid of the staff in the facility, who are ‘capable of anything’.
A spokesperson for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said it’s providing consular assistance for Seamus.
There are around ‘five to six’ cases of Irish citizens detained by ICE, the Taoiseach has said. Micheal Martin said the cases ‘vary in terms of status’ but said the Government would do everything it can to help Seamus.
His sister, Caroline, said: ‘There are no words. I mean, the way they’re being kept, and they’re locked up, and he’s only been allowed out a couple of times.
‘They don’t see the sunlight. They don’t get out. Their health deteriorates.’
Seamus’s wife, Tiffany, hasn’t been able to visit her husband in the ICE facility, saying it was ‘almost impossible’ to set one up.
‘He’s a good man. I don’t think anyone deserves this, but Seamus definitely doesn’t deserve this,’ she said.
Conditions inside the facility have led many prisoners, including Seamus, to lose weight, fight for food, and face health issues.
In November, a British woman was arrested by ICE agents while holding her newborn son at a green card appointment.
Katie, 33, and her husband, Stephen Paul, 33, were at the San Diego U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office, where Katie was undergoing the final steps of her green card approval.
She first went out to California in September 2024 to meet up with her then long-distance boyfriend.
The couple then tied the knot during her visit in the following month after finding out that they were expecting their first child together.
Initially, she was planning to fly back to the UK, but when Katie found out she was expecting, she decided to stay in the US due to it being a high-risk pregnancy.
She was allowed to remain legally in the US while applying for a green card because she married Stephen, who is an American.
Katie’s mum said they were in the process of getting everything signed in the centre when ICE agents arrested her.
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