Read the full article on KETV 7
WAKEFIELD RIGHT NOW. DAVID. GOOD EVENING. ED YES. FOR YEARS THIS MAN FROM IRELAND HAS RUN A SMALL PLASTERING BUSINESS IN THIS PART OF MASSACHUSETTS. NOW HE IS AT THE CENTER OF A LEGAL AND POLITICAL FIGHT SPANNING TWO CONTINENTS. THIS ICE DETENTION CENTER ON A MILITARY BASE IN EL PASO, TEXAS, IS WHERE 38 YEAR OLD SEAMUS CULLITON HAS BEEN HELD FOR NEARLY FIVE MONTHS. SHORTLY AFTER, HE WAS ARRESTED BY IMMIGRATION AGENTS OUTSIDE THIS HOME DEPOT IN SAUGUS. I HOPE SEAMUS CAN GET RELEASED. I HOPE HE CAN COME HOME AND WE CAN FINISH WHAT WE STARTED. COLTON’S WIFE, TIFFANY, IS A U.S. CITIZEN. HIS LAWYER SAYS HE HAD WORK PAPERS AND WAS CLOSE TO GETTING A GREEN CARD, AND THAT USUALLY IMMIGRANTS IN HIS SITUATION ARE NOT DETAINED. HE’S JUST THE PERFECT CANDIDATE TO HAVE THE GOVERNMENT EXERCISE A FAVORABLE DISCRETION ON HIS BEHALF. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH AN IRISH RADIO STATION, COLTON DESCRIBED THE ICE FACILITY IN TEXAS AS A MODERN DAY CONCENTRATION CAMP WITH NO FRESH AIR, NO SUNSHINE AND LITTLE FOOD. HE SAID HE FEARS FOR HIS LIFE. THREE DETAINEES HAVE DIED THERE IN THE LAST 45 DAYS. IN A SPEECH BEFORE THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM IRELAND DENOUNCED COLTON’S DETENTION. HE’S BEEN DETAINED IN WHAT CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS INHUMANE CONDITIONS FOR POLITICAL REASONS. AN ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY DENIED SUCH DESCRIPTIONS OF THE CAMP AND SAYS COLTON WILL BE RELEASED AS SOON AS HE AGREES TO RETURN TO IRELAND. ON WEDNESDAY, REPORTERS FROM IRELAND ASKED COLTON’S LAWYER ABOUT PENDING CRIMINAL CHARGES THEY SAY ARE WAITING FOR COLTON BACK IN IRELAND. SHE SAID SHE IS UNAWARE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE’RE HEARING ABOUT THAT. SO TO YOUR QUESTION, I CAN’T SPEAK TO A WARRANT. WE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO CONFIRM WHETHER OR NOT COLTON IS FACING CHARGES. BACK IN IRELAND. HIS LAWYER SAYS SINCE HE’S BEEN IN THE U.S., HE HAS
Advertisement
Court pauses deportation of Irishman who lived for decades in Boston
An Irishman who lived in the Boston area for nearly two decades won a court order to hold off his deportation, but he was not given a pass out of federal detention. Seamus Culleton overstayed his visa in 2009 but has since married a U.S. citizen. His attorney, Ogor Winnie Okoye, previously told sister station WCVB that Culleton was in the process of seeking a green card.In a court order dated Sunday, Culleton won a temporary order to stay his order of removal while his petition for review of the case is pending. The court declined to provide him relief from detention and wrote, “he has failed to explain why such a request properly might be entertained by the court at this juncture.”Culleton’s attorney and wife spoke with reporters last month and said Culleton has no criminal record in the U.S. “I hope Seamus can get released. I hope he can come home. And we can finish what we started,” Culleton’s wife, Tiffany Smith, said.In a recent radio interview, Seamus Culleton compared the detention facility in Texas to a concentration camp and said he fears for his life.Culleton said there was no fresh air or sunshine and little food at the facility. The Irish Times reported that Culleton was the subject of a warrant issued in Ireland in 2009 over alleged drug charges. WCVB obtained Irish court records for someone with the same name who was accused in 2008 of possessing MDMA and obstructing an investigation.
An Irishman who lived in the Boston area for nearly two decades won a court order to hold off his deportation, but he was not given a pass out of federal detention.
Seamus Culleton overstayed his visa in 2009 but has since married a U.S. citizen. His attorney, Ogor Winnie Okoye, previously told sister station WCVB that Culleton was in the process of seeking a green card.
Advertisement
In a court order dated Sunday, Culleton won a temporary order to stay his order of removal while his petition for review of the case is pending. The court declined to provide him relief from detention and wrote, “he has failed to explain why such a request properly might be entertained by the court at this juncture.”
Culleton’s attorney and wife spoke with reporters last month and said Culleton has no criminal record in the U.S.
“I hope Seamus can get released. I hope he can come home. And we can finish what we started,” Culleton’s wife, Tiffany Smith, said.
In a recent radio interview, Seamus Culleton compared the detention facility in Texas to a concentration camp and said he fears for his life.
Culleton said there was no fresh air or sunshine and little food at the facility.
The Irish Times reported that Culleton was the subject of a warrant issued in Ireland in 2009 over alleged drug charges. WCVB obtained Irish court records for someone with the same name who was accused in 2008 of possessing MDMA and obstructing an investigation.
