Irish Long‑Term U.S. Resident Held by ICE Despite Work Permit and Pending Marriage Green Card

CBS reports that Irish plasterer Seamus Culleton, who has lived in the U.S. nearly 20 years and was living in Boston, has been detained by ICE for almost five months at the El Paso Camp East Montana facility on Fort Bliss in Texas despite holding a valid work permit and a pending marriage‑based green card application as the spouse of an American citizen. Culleton entered on the Visa Waiver Program in 2009, overstayed his 90‑day authorization, and DHS says an immigration judge issued a final removal order on Sept. 10, 2025; the department insists a pending green card and work authorization “does not give someone legal status” and says he was offered “instant” removal to Ireland but chose to remain in detention. Speaking by phone to Irish broadcaster RTÉ, Culleton describes the camp as a "nightmare" of filthy temporary tents, scarce outdoor time, inadequate food and rarely cleaned toilets and showers, conditions DHS vigorously denies as “FALSE,” claiming ICE standards exceed those in most U.S. prisons. The case illustrates how the Trump administration is now arresting and trying to deport non‑criminals with active immigration cases who were typically allowed to finish those processes under prior administrations, and it comes amid broader scrutiny of Fort Bliss detention conditions after other reports of disease outbreaks and documented deaths. Immigration lawyers warn on social media that similar mixed‑status U.S. families — especially those in the visa‑waiver overstay category — are increasingly vulnerable to sudden interior arrests even when they appear to be on a lawful path to a green card.