Seamus Culleton, an Irish national who has lived in the US for over 20 years, spent five months in ICE detention despite carrying a valid work permit and being married to a US citizen. The Boston-area plastering business owner was arrested during a random immigration sweep on September 9, 2025, while returning home from work.

Culleton's attorney, Ogor Winnie Okoye of BOS Legal Group, described him as a "model immigrant" caught in a "capricious and inept system." After being held in facilities near Boston, Buffalo, and El Paso, Culleton shared a cell with more than 70 men in squalid conditions he compared to "a concentration camp." His wife, Tiffany Smyth, paid a $4,000 bond for his release, but authorities continued detaining him.

At a November hearing, a judge approved Culleton's release, yet ICE agents claimed he signed deportation documents in Buffalo - signatures Culleton denies making. The judge noted irregularities in ICE's court documents but sided with the agency. Under US law, Culleton cannot appeal but seeks handwriting analysis and video evidence from his Buffalo interview. The Irish government reported a 330% increase in citizens seeking deportation assistance, from 15 in 2024 to 65 in 2025.

Quick Fact: The number of Irish citizens seeking consular assistance about deportation from the US jumped from 15 in 2024 to 65 last year.