Irish Man Held by ICE Seeks Release, But Daughters Demand His Deportation

Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been held for more than five months at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Texas. He has urged the Irish government to intervene with the Trump administration for his release so he can reunite with his wife, a U.S. citizen, in Boston.

However, his daughters in Ireland have a different account. Twin sisters Heather and Melissa Morrissey, who said Culleton abandoned them in Ireland when they were 18 months old, have called for their father’s deportation.

The 18-year-old sisters want their father to return to Ireland so he can face charges in a drug possession dating to 2008. Heather Morrissey and Melissa Morrissey said Culleton left them and their mother in Ireland, while he travelled to the United States on a tourist visa in 2009. They said they harbor resentment toward their father and want him to face charges in his native country.

Heather Morrissey said in an interview with Daily Mail, “I feel that we were born and he just up and left. He did abandon us. That’s what he did.” The sisters added that their mother never received child support from Culleton and raised them alone. They said they haven’t seen their father since he left for the United States.

An Irish court issued a warrant for Culleton over drug possession in 2009, but he had already fled the country. After arriving in the United States, Culleton settled in Boston and married a US citizen. He owned a plastering company and lived with his wife and two dogs until September 2025, when ICE officials detained him.

Culleton said he is authorized to remain in the United States because he has a work permit and was awaiting approval of his green card. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said he is an illegal immigrant as he overstayed his 90-day tourist visa.

While DHS moved to deport Culleton, he is contesting the action and remains detained at Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso. Earlier in February, Culleton spoke with RTÉ Radio, saying he feared for his life as the facilities at the detention center were unsanitary and inadequate.

He said the facility resembled a concentration camp and that he has been detained unfairly because he has no criminal record in the United States. Heather Morrissey said Culleton had called her shortly after ICE detained him. The sisters said they were shocked when they heard him speaking on RTÉ Radio.

Heather Morrissey said, “He told me that he got detained by ICE… he doesn’t know when he’s going to get out. That was about it. I haven’t heard from him since then.”

Meanwhile, Culleton continues to seek release and hopes to return to his wife and dogs. After his radio interview, Irish lawmakers said they would contact the U.S. government to discuss his case.