Ice Detention of Legal Irish Man Married to U.S. Citizen Creates Major International Incident

[babylonsister]

Ice Detention of Legal Irish Man Married to U.S. Citizen Creates Major International Incident
FishOutofWater, author
by FishOutofWater
Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 1:08:36p EST

Seamus Culleton, Irish immigrant and his U.S. citizen wife, Tiffany, before ICE took him away despite being here legally.


ICE has created a major international incident with Ireland by detaining Irish citizen married to a U.S. citizen. He has committed no crimes, is here with a legal work permit, but ICE snatched him up in a sweep at a Home Depot in Massachusetts. He was briefly held in an ICE detention center in Massachusetts but was then sent to a concentration camp in Texas with thousands of men housed in fetid tents without clean toilets. His mother and family back in Ireland are requesting that Ireland’s taoiseach makes ICE free Seamus Culleton before he meets with Donald Trump on St. Patrick’s day. The story is plastered across Irish media and has been picked up by the Guardian in the U.S. and International editions.

Mr. Culleton did nothing wrong but ICE still tried to deport him. Mr. Culleton has asserted that ICE forged a document that falsely stated that Mr. Culleton agreed to be deported. Mr. Culleton said that his life was with his wife and small business in Massachusetts and that he never agreed to be deported. He believes that his indefinite detention which has reached 5 months is punishment for exposing the ICE forgery. www.independent.ie/...

“They're known to hold people for long periods down here before deporting them, and especially me, because I have accused the ICE agents of signing my name without any real evidence to back it up.”

“They may just hold me for months and months as punishment," he said.

Conditions are horrific in apparent violation of international law according to European experts. Mr. Culleton fears for his life, not because of the other inmates, but because of the abusive guards.

snip//

Donald Trump and his lead advisor on immigration Steven Miller have expressed their desire to have more immigration of Europeans to the U.S. so why would they allow abuse of an Irish man married to a U.S. citizen? It doesn’t help achieve their goal of preserving a white majority in America.

I think the answer, which should disturb all U.S. citizens, is that an authoritarian bureaucracy operating in darkness becomes an uncontrolled monster that attacks any thing and any one that threatens its power. And there is no limit to the power that such a bureaucracy will accept. ICE and the Border Patrol are a law onto themselves and if one of them decides to kidnap and deport you the bureaucracy will enable it. It one of them decides to shoot you, the bureaucracy including the Department of Justice will defend the ICE or CBP shooter.

more...

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/2/10/2368078/-Ice-Detention-of-Legal-Irish-Man-Married-to-U-S-Citizen-Creates-Major-International-Incident?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

[UpInArms]

1. The cruelty is a feature

not a bug

[AllaN01Bear]

13. also, lying.

[Ilsa]

2. I think your summary of the result is spot-on. Nailed. nt

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

3. Kick

[bottomofthehill]

4. Not the Irish, ICE done fucked up

They went and detained a non-brown person. What is USA coming to.

[bottomofthehill]

5. From Blazing Saddles

https://makeagif.com/amp/1TdOcX

[OldBaldy1701E]

6. "ICE and the Border Patrol are a law onto themselves..."

But, let's keep on sending letters and holding meetings about it.

That will stop them for sure!

[irisblue]

7. ICE grabbed an white businessman who refuses to back down. My my my

F ICE

[MLWR]

8. And orange man wonders out loud why Norwegians aren't immigrating to the US.

RIGHT HERE, orange man, is why.

[mdbl]

9. Lucky he was able to get a call through to RTE

So many still being held in darkness/silence without any advocates.

[cbabe]

10. How much is his detention worth? Someone is making big bucks. Would be

enlightening to see daily dollar amounts added up for every prisoner. Like the Times Square debt counter or nuclear risk ticking clock.

[LittleGirl]

11. This is my worst fear

Being married to a legal naturalized citizen that has brown skin. That he would get snatched up by ICE. He’s the breadwinner because nobody will hire a woman like me that is over 65. We would lose everything. There’s no insurance available to protect you from your own government.

[Blue_Roses]

12. Figures...

Donald Trump and his lead advisor on immigration Steven Miller have expressed their desire to have more immigration of Europeans to the U.S. so why would they allow abuse of an Irish man married to a U.S. citizen? It doesn’t help achieve their goal of preserving a white majority in America.

This is what it all boils down to...

[CrispyQ]

14. From what I've read about the lower hiring standards, many of the new ICE recruits probably don't understand nuance.

It's all about getting paid to be mean to people you don't like, or who dare to question you, & to do that with impunity.

Their incompetence may be what saves us.

[joanbarnes]

15. So worried for my family......

Nieces, one married to Irish green card holder with legal rep costing $5000. Another niece married to Italian, now naturalized US citizen, brother married to Polish woman, here for over 50 years! (3 kids, 5 grands).

[somsai]

16. Turned out there was more to the story

I have a general rule of thumb on stories about an individual.

24 hours to get some resemblance of the facts, like male, Irish national, busted by ICE, time of arrival etc.

But I still hold back on making assumptions for a week or two or even a month or two. Sometimes there's more to the story. Like this one.

[Vinca]

17. ICE obviously made a big blunder here. The guy is WHITE. The KKKing must ordain he stay.