A court has issued a temporary order staying the deportation of Kilkenny native Seamus Culleton, this according to his attorneys.
A stay on deportation also means a longer stay in an ICE holding facility, in Culleton's case one in El Paso, Texas.
Culleto, 38, was arrested near his home in Massachusetts by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in September.
In January, according to an Irish Times report, a court in Texas rejected a habeas corpus application from Culleton who has been in the U.S. since 2009 and after staying beyond his 90 day visa waiver clearance.
In doing so he automatically surrendered the right to an attorney if apprehended and served with a deportation order.
Culleton is married to a U.S. citizen and was in the process of applying for a Green Card when detained by ICE.
According to the Times account his legal representatives, Bos Legal Group, of Lynn, Massachusetts, in a statement, said they entered a petition for review of his removal order, and an ex parte (one side only) motion to stay Culleton’s removal, in the courts in the First Circuit, which includes Massachusetts and a number of other U.S. states, late last week.
The group said that, on Friday, the court “entered a temporary order staying Culleton’s removal for the next ten business days. The court ordered the government to file their response, which is due in the coming days”.
BOS Legal said it “remains focused on securing Culleton's release from ICE custody and obtaining the immigration relief necessary for him to be united with his wife and to remain in the United States with his family."
Culleton, from Glenmore, County Kilkenny, told the Irish Times last week that conditions in the ICE facility in El Paso are “like a concentration camp, absolute hell." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has disputed this, however.
A complicating factor in the case is that at the time Culleton came to America he was the subject of criminal charges in Ireland, including an allegation that he was in possession of drugs for the purposes of supply and another of criminal damage.
"The District Court in New Ross, Co Wexford, issued bench warrants for his arrest when he failed to appear before the court in April and September 2009. He went to the US as a tourist in March 2009. The warrants remain in existence and Culleton has not since come to the attention of An Garda Síochána, the Times reported.
On its website Bos Legal has posted a statement on the Culleton case.
It states: Seamus Culleton (“Culleton”) has been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since September 9, 2025. Within days of his arrest in Massachusetts, ICE transferred Culleton to the Batavia, New York, ICE Facility, where he was detained for approximately two weeks. He was then moved to his current location at the ERO East Montana ICE Detention Camp in El Paso, Texas, where he has now been held for more than four months.
Culleton entered the United States through the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) in March 2009, which permits entrants to remain in the United States for up to 90 days. He overstayed that period. Under the VWP, participants waive the right to contest removal except when seeking asylum. In those cases, the entrant may appear before an immigration judge solely to adjudicate the asylum claim.
VWP entrants are otherwise subject to a summary administrative removal process handled exclusively by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE. This process requires that the government adhere to specific procedural safeguards, including providing written notice of its intent to remove the individual and allowing the entrant 48 hours to challenge the removal.
Historically, U.S. immigration law and policy have recognized the importance of family unity and have permitted immediate relatives of U.S. citizens to adjust their immigration status even when they have overstayed a visa. USCIS policy memos and guidance support the approval of marriage-based adjustment applications filed by VWP entrants, and DHS has routinely exercised favorable discretion in such cases, including cases like Culleton’s where a marriage-based adjustment application is already pending. Culleton has lived in the United States for nearly two decades. He founded a small plastering business, built strong community ties in Massachusetts, and has no criminal history. He is married to a U.S. citizen, Tiffany Smith. Together they filed an I-130 alien relative petition and I-485 adjustment of status application well before his arrest. USCIS had already begun processing his case and approved his Employment Authorization Document (EAD) associated with his green card application.
Despite notifying ICE of his pending immigration applications at the time of arrest, Culleton remained detained. He was scheduled for his marriage-based green card interview in November and December 2025, but USCIS denied requests for him to appear telephonically from custody.
A habeas petition challenging his continued detention was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. On January 23, 2026, the court denied the petition,
concluding that under existing Fifth Circuit precedent VWP entrants have no due process rights to contest their removal. The case also raised concerns regarding lack of proper notice and disputed signatures on documents ICE claimed were served on Culleton.
Although the court noted procedural irregularities, it ultimately ruled that Culleton likely signed the documents, attributing inconsistencies in his testimony to sleep deprivation caused by detention conditions.
Case: Seamus Thomas Culleton v. De Anda-Ybarra et al., 3:25-cv-00554-KC.
Today marks five months of detention under harsh conditions that Culleton has publicly described in detail. He faces the risk of removal at any time. His legal representatives are
requesting his immediate release so he may complete his immigration process and reunite with his wife and community. They also ask DHS and ICE to rescind the administrative removal order issued on November 14, 2025.
Culleton poses no danger to the public and does not fall within any enforcement priority category. He has strong ties to the United States, a pending marriage-based immigration case, and a long history of peaceful residence and community contribution. U.S. immigration law emphasizes family unity and humane enforcement principles that strongly support the exercise of discretion in his case.
Culleton and his family respectfully request that DHS and ICE rescind his removal order and release him from custody so he can conclude his lawful immigration process.
