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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)
Everything you need to know:
Seamus Culleton, an Irish national and Liverpool FC fan, has been held in a Texas facility for over five months after being detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Originally from Kilkenny, Ireland, he had been living in the U.S. and operating a plastering business in Boston, Massachusetts.
ICE officials state that Mr. Culleton violated federal law by overstaying his 90-day visitor allowance (under the visa waiver program) by approximately 16 years, having originally arrived in 2009.
Culleton is reportedly being held in a tent unit alongside 72 other detainees at a facility in Texas.
Culleton maintains that he should not be deported because he is married to an American citizen, Tiffany Smyth, and claimed to be just one interview away from obtaining a Green Card. He also asserted that he possesses a valid Massachusetts driver’s license and a work permit.
The official ICE X (formerly Twitter) account addressed the case publicly, saying that the U.S. is a "nation of law and order" and that overstaying a visa for 16 years is a violation of federal immigration law.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the DHS, said that a pending green card or work authorisation does not grant legal status. She stated that Culleton has been afforded "full due process."
According to the DHS, an immigration judge issued a final order of removal for Mr. Culleton on September 10, 2025, after he failed to depart the country following his initial visa expiration.
ICE has been under increased scrutiny following a recent immigration enforcement "surge" in Minneapolis that resulted in the deaths of two individuals.