An Irish man who has lived within 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 within the US for twenty years 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 piece permit and was within the strategy 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 understand how rather more’ he can take.
‘It’s an absolute torture, psychological and physical torture. I just need to get back to my wife. We’re so desperate to begin a family,’ he said.
Seamus said he’s shared a 16x35ft tent with 72 other people and has lost weight as a consequence of the tough conditions within the Texas facility.
‘I’ve had barely any outside time, no fresh air, no sunshine. I could probably count on each hands the variety of times I’ve been outside,’ he said.
He also says he’s afraid of the staff in the ability, who’re ‘able to anything’.
A spokesperson for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said it’s providing consular assistance for Seamus.
His sister, Caroline, said: ‘There aren’t any words. I mean, the way in which they’re being kept, they usually’re locked up, and he’s only been allowed out a few times.
‘They don’t see the daylight. They don’t get out. Their health deteriorates.’
Seamus’s wife, Tiffany, hasn’t been in a position to visit her husband within the ICE facility, saying it was ‘almost not possible’ to set one up.
‘He’s a superb man. I don’t think anyone deserves this, but Seamus definitely doesn’t deserve this,’ she said.
Conditions inside the ability have led many prisoners, including Seamus, to shed some pounds, 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 on the San Diego U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office, where Katie was undergoing the ultimate steps of her green card approval.
She first went out to California in September 2024 to fulfill up together with her then long-distance boyfriend.
The couple then tied the knot during her visit in the next month after checking out that they were expecting their first child together.
Initially, she was planning to fly back to the UK, but when Katie discovered she was expecting, she decided to remain within the US as a consequence of it being a high-risk pregnancy.
She was allowed to stay legally within the US while applying for a green card because she married Stephen, who’s an American.
Katie’s mum said they were within the strategy of getting every thing signed within the centre when ICE agents arrested her.
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