Seamus Culleton, a Liverpool FC fan from Ireland, has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since September, describing conditions in the Texas facility as "psychological and physical torture"
Megan Banner Reporter and Ciara O'Loughlin
18:02, 10 Feb 2026Updated 18:03, 10 Feb 2026
LFC fan Seamus Culleton has spent the past five months in an Ice detention centre
LFC fan Seamus Culleton has spent the past five months in an Ice detention centre
A Liverpool FC supporter has endured five months of alleged "psychological and physical torture" in an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention center.
Seamus Culleton, originally from Glenmore, Co. Kilkenny in Ireland, relocated to the United States more than two decades ago. However, on September 9, Mr. Culleton, who runs a plastering business in Boston, Massachusetts, and is a Liverpool fan, was arrested and has been held in ICE detention ever since.
Despite possessing a valid work permit and a Massachusetts driving licence at the time of his arrest, and being just one interview away from completing his green card application process, he now finds himself sharing a tent with 72 others in a Texas detention center. He is appealing for assistance from the Irish government.
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Speaking from the ICE facility in Ero El Paso Camp East Montana, Mr. Culleton described his current situation as "a nightmare." Speaking to RTE Radio 1's Liveline, as quoted by the Liverpool ECHO, he pleaded: "I'd love for you guys to just try to get me out of here. Do all you can, please. It's absolute torture, psychological torture, physical torture.
"Everybody's sick. There's Covid in every pod. There's influenza in every pod. It's just a horrible, horrible, horrible place. It's very hard to stay positive in a situation like this. We're often without hygiene products. We're often without shampoo and soap.
"The showers are filthy, the toilets are filthy. Infection, disease and sickness is right here. I just want to get back to my wife. We were so desperate to start a family."
Seamus Culleton with his wife Tiffany Smyth
Seamus Culleton with his wife Tiffany Smyth
Mr. Culleton revealed the ordeal has taken a devastating toll on his family back in Ireland, saying: "My mother, especially, is heartbroken that I'm in here. She's just heartbroken over the whole situation. I don't want her health to get any worse. She's constantly worrying and stressing about me. It's not fair on her."
His wife Tiffany Smyth vowed she won't stop fighting for his release. She told KCLR that her husband has no criminal record, not even an unpaid parking ticket. She said: "It's hard to sleep when all I do is worry about him. I can't believe what's going on in this country.
"It's awful how they are treated there. He has literally been kidnapped. He got taken in Massachusetts, he was moved eight hours to Buffalo, New York, he was there a week, then in the middle of the night they woke him up, put him on a plane to El Paso, Texas.
"He is living in hell. I don't know how he is staying strong like he is. They are awful. The guys are hungry all the time. The facility where they are in, the roof leaks, and the guys' beds get wet. They don't have pillows. The bathrooms are disgusting. They barely get outdoor time. For a whole month, Seamus didn't get fresh air or to see the sun."
Ms. Smyth expressed hope that her husband will be freed before Taoiseach Micheal Martin visits United States President Donald Trump at the White House for St. Patrick's Day.
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She said: "It's been five months. Five months of hell for someone that has done nothing wrong. It's only fair that he is released. I will do whatever I can. I wrote our president email after email, there is no help."
Labour TD Duncan Smith stated that Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee must obtain the "full and clear picture" regarding the current situation facing Irish citizens. He said: "Mr. Culleton's testimony is absolutely harrowing, and marries with what immigration lawyers on the ground tell us about the very real and disturbing conditions that Irish citizens are facing inside ICE detention facilities.
"This Government needs to stand up for Irish citizens abroad. The Minister must seek any and all information from the United States Department of Homeland Security to establish how many Irish citizens are currently detained."