'Absolute hell': Irish man held in ICE ‘concentration camp’ for five months despite 20 years living in US
An Irish national who has been held by ICE for more than 5 months despite living legally in the United States for more than 20 years has compared living conditions to those of a "concentration camp".
Listen to this article
Seamus Culleton, described as a "model immigrant", was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on September 9, 2025, in Texas.
Mr Culleton, a plasterer, whose wife, Tiffany Smyth, is a United States citizen, says he was carrying a Massachusetts driving licence and a valid work permit when he was pulled over by ICE on the way home from work.
The permit was issued as part of an ongoing green card application which he initiated in April 2025, with one interview remaining.
Likening his treatment by detention facility staff to "torture" and the conditions inside the El Paso Camp East Montana detention centre to those of a "concentration camp", the Irishman raised concerns over the officers holding him, noting them to be "capable of anything".
The 38-year-old Irish citizen, formerly of Glenmore, Ireland, had lived in the US for more than two decades before he was detained - despite having a valid work permit, no criminal record or warrants out for his arrest.
He went on to describe conditions as "absolute hell" after being transported to the centre following his detainment.
Read more: Jeffrey Epstein had ‘nine-year-old victim and links to top foreign official’, redacted files reveal
Read more: Afghan asylum seeker guilty of abducting, repeatedly raping and taking indecent video of girl, 12
“I’m not in fear of the other inmates. I’m afraid of the staff. They’re capable of anything,” he told the Irish Times.
Camp East Montana is located on a military base named Fort Bliss - widely considered the largest ICE detention centre in the US.
Holding around 3,000 detainees, reports suggest that an influx of detainees will see its capacity upgraded to 5,000 in the coming months.
Speaking from the facility, Culleton told The Irish Times, he described the atmosphere as full of “anxiety and depression”.
Mr Culleton has since appealed to Irish premier Micheal Martin to push for his release, raising his case directly with US president Donald Trump during their upcoming White House meeting in March.
It comes after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called for the detention centre's closure in December.
The group cited a pattern of alleged abuse that included beatings, sexual abuse at the hands of officers, medical neglect, and insufficient nutrition.
Ice continues to deny all allegations linked to the alleged abuses.
LBC has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.