An Irishman who has been held in a US immigration facility for five months has received a 10-day reprieve on his potential deportation.
Seamus Culleton, from Kilkenny, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on 9 September last year while driving home from work in Massachusetts.
He told agents he had a work permit, but was arrested and taken to an ICE facility at El Paso in Texas.
The company representing him, BOS Legal, said Mr Culleton’s deportation had been delayed by a petition for review of the administrative final removal order and an ex parte motion filed in the First Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday.
BOS added that the temporary order would be “staying Culleton’s removal for the next 10 business days”.
The court has ordered the government to file its response, which is “due in the coming days”, the company said.
BOS Legal noted that Mr Culleton has been in the US for almost two decades, and is married to a US citizen.
It said he has “no criminal entries” since arriving in the US, presents “no public safety concerns”, and has “strong familial and community ties” there.
Mr Culleton has described the detention centre in El Paso as “horrible” and “filthy”, with little sanitation and limited food.
He has claimed that he is in fear of his life from the security firm in charge, and that there is competition for food. He likened the facilities to a “modern-day concentration camp”.
Mr Culleton said there were 72 people in a tent the size of a 16ft by 35ft room with no ceiling, two rows of bunk beds on either side, and a long table down the middle.
Illnesses are rife among detainees, he said, with barely any outside time, fresh air or sunlight.
Mr Culleton’s wife, Tiffany Smyth, told Sky News her husband’s situation is “hard to believe”, and said that she had “a million questions” when he phoned to say he was being held.
“If it can happen to me… it can kind of happen to anyone,” Mr Culleton told Sky News.
BOS Legal said it remains focused on security his release from custody, and “obtaining the immigration relief necessary for him to be reunited with his wife and to remain in the United States with his family”.
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The firm added: “We are committed to advocating for Culleton’s right to remain in the United States based on legal merits of his case.
“Our focus is on reuniting him with his spouse, and ensuring that justice is served within the bounds of our laws.”
