Liverpool FC fan Seamus Culleton has been held in a Texas detention centre for over five months
Seamus Culleton
Liverpool fan Seamus Culleton.(Image: Handout)
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An Irish Liverpool fan detained by federal authorities in the United States "violated federal law", US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claims. Seamus Culleton has spent more than five months in a Texas detention facility.
ICE has come under fire following the killings of Alex Pretti and Renée Good in Minneapolis during an immigration enforcement 'surge' last month. Seamus, from Kilkenny, is accused of overstaying a 90-day visitor allowance in 2009. He has since remained in the United States, and last September, Seamus, who operates a plastering firm in Boston, Massachusetts, was detained by ICE officials.
Seamus claimed he possesses a valid work permit and a Massachusetts driver's licence. He further stated he was just one interview away from obtaining a Green Card following his marriage to American citizen Tiffany Smyth, reports Dublin Live.
He is being held in a tent alongside 72 others at a Texas detention facility. Responding to press coverage of Seamus' situation, the official ICE X account posted: "This man overstayed his visa... BY 16 YEARS. We are a nation of law and order - overstaying your visa violates federal immigration law."
Following his detention by ICE, Seamus declined deportation to Ireland, maintaining that he was contesting his arrest given his marriage to a US citizen and possession of a valid work permit.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the US department of homeland security, said Mr Culleton had been afforded the "full due process" and that a pending green card and work authorisation does not grant legal status. The department claims that Seamus exceeded his permitted stay in 2009 under the visa waiver programme.
This scheme allows tourists to stay in the US for up to 90 days without requiring a visa.
Ms McLaughlin said: "He failed to depart the US. He received full due process and was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge on September 10, 2025."
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