Seamus Culleton, an Irishman with a valid US work permit, has been held in an ICE detention center for over four months and calls it “a modern day concentration camp” (Video: @RTERadio1) pic.twitter.com/p4nJJwuoXL
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) February 10, 2026
An Irishman, Seamus Culleton, currently detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) described the facilities as “like a modern-day concentration camp” to RTE’s Liveline, notes The Independent:
He was apprehended by ICE agents in September 2025 while driving home from work, recalling how he first noticed a man in blue sunglasses before other agents appeared…
When asked if he had a green card, he said he did not, but that he was married to a US citizen, had a work permit and was due to receive his green card.
He was detained and initially put into a holding cell in Massachusetts before being taken to New York and then to the detention centre in El Paso, Texas. He claimed that ICE agents had tried to get him to sign deportation papers, which he said he “absolutely” did not.
He described the detention centre in El Paso as “horrible”, where there is little sanitation, limited food and where it was “tough to stay positive”. He said he was in fear for his life from the security firm in charge, who he said were “capable of anything”, and said that it is not easy to predict what will happen.
He said there were 72 people in a tent the size of a 16ft x 35ft room with no ceiling, with two rows of bunk beds on either side and a long table down the middle.
He described the conditions at the camp as “filthy”, the toilets and showers as “nasty”, and that illnesses are rife among those being detained. He said there was competition for food and said he had “definitely” lost weight.
“There is no real quality of life here. I’ve been locked in the same room now for four and a half months,” he told RTE’s Liveline programme. I’ve had barely any outside time, no fresh air, no sunshine. I could probably count on both hands the amount of times I’ve been outside.
(Sources: The Independent, Liveline)