Irish man detained by ICE appeals for Irish leader's help

Seamus Culleton is originally from Glenmore, Co Kilkenny, and has been living in the United States of America for almost 20 years. The businessman is based in the Boston area and runs his own plastering firm. He is married to American native Tiffany Smyth, and has no criminal record or as much as a parking ticket to his name.

Seamus has been detained in a detention centre in Texas, 4,000km from Boston, since September.

Speaking to Kieran Cuddihy on RTÉ Radio 1’s Liveline on Monday, Seamus detailed the horror conditions, explaining that the centre is made up of temporary tents, each of which can hold around 1,000 detainees.

"I’ve been locked in the same room now for four and a half months," he shared, "I’ve had barely any outside time — no fresh air, no sunshine. I could probably count on both hands the amount of times I’ve been outside.

"I’m just locked in this room all day, every day. We’ve got two TVs on the walls. We get three meals a day — very, very small meals… kids-sized meals, so everybody’s hungry. Everybody’s tired."

Seamus added that there was no commissary and no other options to get extra food. He said any extra food tends to go to Spanish speakers as staff are typically Spanish speakers themselves.

"I’m in fear for my life in here, honestly, because you know, people have been killed by the staff here, by the security staff," he told Kieran.

"You just don’t know what’s going to happen on a day-to-day basis — if there’s going to be riots. You don’t know what’s going to happen."

The Irish native has been detained since the start of September, and recalled the moment he was apprehended by ICE officers.

He had been returning items to Home Depot after finishing his work shift when he noticed he was being followed by a blue Ford.

Officers ignored Seamus explaining that he had a marriage-based petition in place and was set to receive his Green Card in the foreseeable.

"It was a very unsure moment," he recalled.

"I didn’t really know what to think. I guess when I got thrown in the holding cell in Burlington, Massachusetts, that’s when it kind of sunk in, that I might not be getting out of here."

Seamus then took the chance to make an appeal to Irish politicians, as he begged An Taoiseach Michéal Martin to mention the case on his upcoming visit to the White House for St Patrick’s Day.

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.