It’s A ‘Modern-Day Concentration Camp’: Irish Man Held By ICE Details ‘Nightmare’ Facility | EUROtoday

An Irish man at the moment detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is shedding gentle on the unsettling circumstances inside a Texas detention heart, which he calls “absolute hell.”

“The best way I could describe it is probably like a modern-day concentration camp,” Seamus Culleton instructed the “Liveline” present on Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

Culleton, who’s initially from County Kilkenny, instructed the Irish Times that he’s been within the U.S. for greater than 20 years. He is married to an American citizen and owns a plastering enterprise close to Boston, Massachusetts.

He was detained by ICE on his method residence from work in September. He instructed the Irish Times that on the time of his arrest, he was carrying a Massachusetts driver’s license and a sound work allow, the latter of which was issued to him by the U.S. authorities as a part of the inexperienced card course of that started in April 2025. Culleton stated he has no legal file, “not even a parking ticket” — however was despatched to a facility in El Paso, nonetheless.

“I’ve been locked in the same room now for 4 1/2 months,” Culleton instructed “Liveline” of his detainment. “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. So, I’ve just been locked in this room all day, every day.”

Describing the middle, Culleton stated it was manufactured from “a bunch of temporary tents,” saying he believes the power has about 5 of them that in all probability has “room for a thousand detainees in each tent.”

He went on to explain to “Liveline” his and fellow detainees nightmare-conditions in additional element.

“We get three meals a day, very, very small meals, kid-sized meals. So everybody’s hungry, everybody’s tired,” Culleton stated, noting there’s “no commissary” or different choices for further meals. He added that there’s additionally “competition” for meals and favoritism by employees.

He described the middle as “filthy.”

“The toilets, the showers, completely nasty, very rarely cleaned,” he stated.

Culleton emphasised that because of the circumstances he’s “in fear for my life.”

“People are being killed by the staff here, by the security staff, you know?” Culleton stated. “And you just don’t know what’s going to happen on a day-to-day basis. You don’t know if there’s going to be riots, you don’t… You don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s a nightmare down here.”

HuffPost has reached out to ICE with regard to Culleton’s remarks, however didn’t obtain a direct response.

Culleton’s spouse, Tiffany, instructed RTÉ that her husband was solely allowed a brief cellphone name along with her after his arrest and lasted for “under a minute,” describing it to the Irish Times as “traumatizing.”

“He told me where he had parked his work van because I had to go and pick it up,” she instructed RTÉ. “And then that was it, the phone hung up and I didn’t hear from him for almost a week after that.”

Culleton is now pleading with Taoiseach Micheál Martin, the Irish prime minister, to deliver up the problem of his launch throughout his upcoming St. Patrick’s Day go to on the White House with President Donald Trump in March, per the Irish Times.

A rep for Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs instructed the Irish Times that it was conscious of Culleton’s case and offering “consular assistance” by way of the Irish consulate in Austin, Texas. The spokesperson additionally stated that its embassy in Washington, D.C., is already partaking with the Department of Homeland Security at a “senior level.”

“I don’t know how much more I can take,” Culleton instructed the Irish Times throughout his plea to Martin.