Local News
A U.S. Court of Appeals judge granted Seanys Culleton’s stay of removal pending the resolution of his petition for review.
Tiffany Smith and Seamus Culleton at a Patriots game. Tiffany Smith
A judge paused the deportation of Seamus Culleton, an Irish man married to a U.S. citizen from the Boston area, but he will remain in detention in Texas, where he’s been held for six months.
Seamus Culleton, who overstayed a 90-day visa in 2009, made headlines last month when he spoke to an Irish radio station about poor sanitation and hygiene at the ERO East Montana ICE Detention Camp in El Paso, Texas, calling it “a modern day concentration camp.”
In a March 1 court order, U.S. Court of Appeals Chief Judge David Barron granted Culleton’s stay of removal pending the resolution of his petition for review, according to federal court records.
“If the petition for his review is denied – and absent further order of court prescribing a different result – the stay of removal will expire when mandate issues,” Barron ordered. The judge did not grant relief “related to detention.”
This is the second court order delaying Culleton’s deportation, according to his lawyer. A temporary order staying his removal for 10 business days was granted Feb. 13 after filing a petition to review his administrative final removal order. The March 1 order extended that pause of deportation.
“We are committed to advocating for Culleton’s right to remain in the United States based on legal merits of his case,” his immigration lawyer Ogor Okoye said in a statement at the time. “Our focus is on reuniting him with his spouse and ensuring that justice is served within the bounds of our laws.”
Culleton, 39, has no criminal record since living in the U.S., Okoye said previously, and had work authorization and a pending green card application. He owns a small plastering business and has lived in the U.S. for nearly two decades.
According to reporting in Ireland, however, he failed to appear in court in 2009 on drug-related charges, including unlawful possession, possession for sale and supply, and obstruction related to a 2008 incident, Raidió Teilifís Éireann reported.
Culleton was arrested Sept. 9 after returning some items to the Home Depot in Saugus, and federal immigration agents “just happened to be there,” Okoye told reporters earlier this month.
“Wrong place, wrong time,” Okoye said, adding that he was arrested after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents ran his license plate at the Home Depot.
The Department of Homeland Security did not return a request for comment but previously said “being in detention is a choice.”
“He was offered the chance to instantly be removed to Ireland but chose to stay in ICE custody, in fact he took affirmative steps to remain in detention,” Culleton said. “A pending green card application and work authorization does not give someone legal status to be in our country.”
His wife, Tiffany Smith, who has lived her entire life in the Boston area, called his detention “heartbreaking.”
“I just want him home. I want him safe. Seamus is a good man. He doesn’t deserve what is going on,” Smith said in February. “We tried to do everything the right way that you’re supposed to do, so I’m just begging, just let us at least finish that.”
Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.
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