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THE TAOISEACH HAS to “absolutely” raise the case of Kilkenny man Seamus Culleton and the wider US immigration crackdown when he meets Donald Trump in the White House for St Patrick’s Day next month, Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh has urged.
Walsh, who is a dual US-Irish citizen, told The Journal at the European Parliament in Strasbourg that Micheál Martin needs to be “very strong” with Trump about the role of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE.
Culleton’s case has been in the headlines across Irish media outlets in recent days, and has also received coverage in the US. The Irishman, who has lived in the US for 20 years, has a valid work permit and drivers’ licence and is married to a US citizen. He had been in the process of attaining a green card.
He is appealing to the Irish government for help after being detained by ICE for almost five months, after being arrested last September.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary in the US Department of Homeland Security, wrote in a social media post last night that Culleton entered the States in 2009 under a visa waiver programme that only allows you to stay for 90 days without a further visa. She called him an “illegal alien” who “failed to depart” after his visa expired.
Walsh is the latest Irish MEP to urge action on the case. Sinn Féin’s Kathleen Funchion also wrote to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, seeking help from the official to secure his release.
However, fellow Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly has disagreed with Walsh’s call, arguing that the Taoiseach should be trusted to “do what’s best for Ireland and for Europe” during his meeting.
Walsh, who represents the Midlands–North-West constituency, called for the Taoiseach and other ministers travelling for St Patrick’s Day to be clear about what she called “international law breakage” arising from the White House during their visits next month.
MEP @MariaWalshEU says the Taoiseach must raise the case of Seamus Culleton and the wider ICE immigration crackdown during his White House visit for St Patrick's Day.
— Eoghan Dalton (@EoghanDalton) February 11, 2026
Walsh, who is a dual Irish-US citizen, says 'fundamental rights' have been harmed by ICE. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/xtwWYBpBux
Asked whether it should be raised during the meeting held between the Taoiseach and Trump, Walsh said the Taoiseach “absolutely” needs to press home the issue.
“You don’t have to go too far down the rabbit hole to say that fundamental rights and freedoms of people in this world are experiencing something that we’ve only read in the history books, when Adolf Hitler was in charge in Germany. It’s terrifying that we see that play out in 2026.”
Walsh continued: “We need to be very, very strong with our language in the White House.”
She added that normally events happen so slowly in politics, but “President Trump has thrown out that rulebook and things are happening at a speed we’ve never seen before”.
Meanwhile, Ireland South MEP Kelly said that it’s “very easy to tell the Taoiseach what he should bring up with Donald Trump” ahead of the visit.
“I don’t think there are too many people envious of him going to meet Donald Trump because of the difficult situation between Europe and the US at the moment,” Kelly told The Journal in Strasbourg.
Asked about Walsh’s call for Martin to raise the issue of ICE with Trump, Kelly said that he has “enough confidence in Micheál Martin as an experienced diplomat” to know how to handle the situation.
Kelly added that the trip is meant to be a “celebration of Irish culture and heritage which the White House has observed” for decades, as he cautioned against actions that could make it the “same as any other country”.
He also said there there is a “misconception” around the purposes of the trip, claiming that it would be “totally disrespectful” to the Irish diaspora who are organising events for St Patrick’s Day in the US.
ICE’s role came under heightened scrutiny last month following the killing of two people in the US city of Minneapolis, resulting in large scale protests.
Speaking earlier this week, the Taoiseach said that the Irish Government is “consistently” raising Culleton’s case with US Homeland Security, but added that the government didn’t want to take any further action that could impact Culleton’s application for permanent status in the US.
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