AN OFFICIAL in the Trump administration has said that the Irishman being detained by ICE, Seamus Culleton, is an “illegal alien” who “failed to depart” the US after his visa expired. 

Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary in the US Department of Homeland Security, wrote a lengthy post on X in which she said that Culleton “received full due process and was issued a final deportation order from a federal judge”. 

She wrote that Culleton entered the States in 2009 under a visa waiver program that only allows you to stay there for 90 days without a further visa. 

McLaughlin said that he was offered the chance to be “instantly removed to Ireland” but that he “chose to stay in ICE custody”, and took steps to “remain in detention”. 

Finally she wrote that being in detention “is a choice” and that the department encourages people in this position to “take control of their departure”. 

McLaughlin added that the US is offering “illegal aliens” $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport. 
https://x.com/TriciaOhio/status/2021329781841957276

Culleton has lived in the US for 20 years. He’s originally from Kilkenny, and was arrested by ICE last September despite having a valid work permit and a driver’s license, whilst being in the process of attaining a green card. 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that the Irish Government is “consistently” raising Culleton’s case with US Homeland Security. 

Martin told reporters yesterday: “I was briefed on this case yesterday, we, and the officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the embassies, are dealing with government security and with ICE in respect of the case and we are concerned about it.”

He further said that the government didn’t want to take any further action that could impact Culleton’s application for permanent status in the US. 

Yesterday, while appearing on RTÉ’s Liveline, Culleton appealed to the Irish government for help to remove him from an ICE detention camp in El Paso, Texas.

Culleton said he would like the Taoiseach to raise his situation with US President Donald Trump on his St Patrick’s Day visit to the US.

“Absolutely I would. If you have Donald Trump’s ear, why not? I’ll take any help I can get now at this point,” he said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee has said that the Government is aware of a “very small number of cases” of Irish nationals who are also in US detention centres. 

The Taoiseach told the Dáil later that this group consists of around 5 to 6 people.