> Originally from County Kilkenny, Culleton has lived in the US for more than 20 years, is married to a US citizen and runs a plastering business in the Boston area.
> ...
> Culleton said that when he was arrested he was carrying a Massachusetts driving licence and a valid work permit issued as part of an application for a green card that he initiated in April 2025. He has a final interview remaining.
Something doesn't add up. How do you live in the US for 20 years (I assume doing plastering work), and only just apply for a green card? Is it common for people to get an H1-B or something like that for such work? Even so, I'd think it would be relatively easy for an Irish person to jump from that to a green card (unlike someone from India or China).
> The Fifth Circuit has held that the VWP statute “‘unambiguously’ limits an alien’s means of contesting removal solely to an application for asylum.” McCarthy v. Mukasey, 555 F.3d 459, 460 (5th Cir. 2009) (citation omitted). And once an individual violates the terms of the VWP by remaining in the United States for more than ninety days, the individual is no longer entitled to
contest removal on any other basis. Id. at 462. This is true even when an individual has a pending adjustment of status application on the basis of their marriage to a U.S. citizen. Id. at 460, 462.
> Culleton concedes he is removable under the VWP. Reply 10. But he argues that
because USCIS accepted and began processing his adjustment of status application, he is entitled to due process protections in its fair adjudication. Id. at 9. The Fifth Circuit has foreclosed this very argument, reasoning that the VWP waiver includes a waiver of due process rights. See Mukasey, 555 F.3d at 462. And “[t]he fact that [Culleton] applied for an adjustment of status before the DHS issued its notice of removal is of no consequence.” Id.
It's shocking that the court could determine this when the whole process of getting permanent residency involves an adjustment of status that allows you to remain in the country even though your visa has expired so long as your application is being processed (which can take a very long time). You just can't leave the country. So to arrest someone while they are following the steps they're supposed to be following, is similar to entrapment (do X and you'll be ok, then they do X and get arrested).
Right now ICE hasn't opened any of their human warehouse "internment camps"
and their quota is "only" 3000 souls per day
Now scale that out 1,000 more days and predict what's going down
Every tourist will be a viable target, there are no consequences for arresting people with paperwork, it just meets quota
Heck they could be grabbing athletes, there were some events this year in US where athletes from various countries in Africa could not get visa permits
I'm still trying to figure out the justification of ICE operating in foreign countries. Are there illegal immigrants in Italy? This is not about immigration.
We have seen many stories like this. Some doubt the authenticity, but what is evident is that these things are happening again and again with impunity. Perhaps you don't think the situation is bad enough, or the details are exaggerated.
However, the fact that a man can be pulled of the street despite having legal status should be alarming. You don't need to care about the Irishman, but you should care about justice.
As presented, that dude's story as makes little sense to anyone familiar with the immigration process. There is more to this story, I wish the reporter would just tell it.
He overstayed the 90 day fiancé visa. Got married eventually. That should have triggered a 5-10 year bar from re-entering the US.
He could have applied for legal status immediately and it is usually waived if you pass the interview process.
Instead, 20 years later he applied for a green card to get a temporary work permit which is usually granted eligible while applying for permanent residency. So he had no work permit or valid status for 20 years.
5 months in detention seems like a long time. They offered to deport him but he refused and supposedly DHS forged his signatures.
It’s a messy case but he could have avoided the detention if he willingly asked to be deported immediately then fight for immigration status from where he has citizenship.
Why is this flagged? As a former foreign TN-1 visa holder, this sort of thing is (a) topically relevant to me, _qua_ software engineer, and (b) technically interesting.
What is the valence of deciding that 'curiosity' (the HN gold standard for relevance) does not include topics like this?
HN, blink twice if you can hear me; the billionaires seem to be foisting a worldview on us through you.
> Mr Culleton said he would like Taoiseach Micheál Martin to mention his case to President Donald Trump when he visits the Oval Office next month.
Wow, so basically a banana republic, any matter should be resolved by one person, literally the president himself!!
> "To this day we still don't know why he was picked up by ICE.
I think they are thinking of “criminal records”, and they see there’s nothing so it should be ok, but I suggest they dig deeper, it’s not about crimes anymore, he probably said something in social media criticizing XYZ and that’s enough to flag him for deportation, that’s the reality now.
19 comments
[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 34.9 ms ] thread> ...
> Culleton said that when he was arrested he was carrying a Massachusetts driving licence and a valid work permit issued as part of an application for a green card that he initiated in April 2025. He has a final interview remaining.
Something doesn't add up. How do you live in the US for 20 years (I assume doing plastering work), and only just apply for a green card? Is it common for people to get an H1-B or something like that for such work? Even so, I'd think it would be relatively easy for an Irish person to jump from that to a green card (unlike someone from India or China).
Usually a pre-Green-Card work permit doesn't allow that (you need a GC to own a business).
This article is an example of sophisticated co-mingling of facts and omissions, designed to obfuscate the context.
- Unsafe conditions in detention.
- Detained people fighting over food (due to insufficient amount).
- A fake signature(!). Violating a judge's orders.
- Multiple US Constitution violations (which, yes, does apply to non-citizens/work-visa holders/even illegal immigrants).
This is a "hero case," but if this is happening here, imagine what people with less financial means and interest from the media are going through.
> The Fifth Circuit has held that the VWP statute “‘unambiguously’ limits an alien’s means of contesting removal solely to an application for asylum.” McCarthy v. Mukasey, 555 F.3d 459, 460 (5th Cir. 2009) (citation omitted). And once an individual violates the terms of the VWP by remaining in the United States for more than ninety days, the individual is no longer entitled to contest removal on any other basis. Id. at 462. This is true even when an individual has a pending adjustment of status application on the basis of their marriage to a U.S. citizen. Id. at 460, 462.
> Culleton concedes he is removable under the VWP. Reply 10. But he argues that because USCIS accepted and began processing his adjustment of status application, he is entitled to due process protections in its fair adjudication. Id. at 9. The Fifth Circuit has foreclosed this very argument, reasoning that the VWP waiver includes a waiver of due process rights. See Mukasey, 555 F.3d at 462. And “[t]he fact that [Culleton] applied for an adjustment of status before the DHS issued its notice of removal is of no consequence.” Id.
Right now ICE hasn't opened any of their human warehouse "internment camps"
and their quota is "only" 3000 souls per day
Now scale that out 1,000 more days and predict what's going down
Every tourist will be a viable target, there are no consequences for arresting people with paperwork, it just meets quota
Heck they could be grabbing athletes, there were some events this year in US where athletes from various countries in Africa could not get visa permits
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7007390/2026/01/30/ice-wint...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/at-winter-olympics-pr...
However, the fact that a man can be pulled of the street despite having legal status should be alarming. You don't need to care about the Irishman, but you should care about justice.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/toWTEuEPDXigwwr78
https://maps.apple.com has higher resolution imagery, but note the location is mismarked (the old facility was by the airport).
He could have applied for legal status immediately and it is usually waived if you pass the interview process.
Instead, 20 years later he applied for a green card to get a temporary work permit which is usually granted eligible while applying for permanent residency. So he had no work permit or valid status for 20 years.
5 months in detention seems like a long time. They offered to deport him but he refused and supposedly DHS forged his signatures.
It’s a messy case but he could have avoided the detention if he willingly asked to be deported immediately then fight for immigration status from where he has citizenship.
What is the valence of deciding that 'curiosity' (the HN gold standard for relevance) does not include topics like this?
HN, blink twice if you can hear me; the billionaires seem to be foisting a worldview on us through you.
Wow, so basically a banana republic, any matter should be resolved by one person, literally the president himself!!
> "To this day we still don't know why he was picked up by ICE.
I think they are thinking of “criminal records”, and they see there’s nothing so it should be ok, but I suggest they dig deeper, it’s not about crimes anymore, he probably said something in social media criticizing XYZ and that’s enough to flag him for deportation, that’s the reality now.