{"id":2570178,"date":"2026-02-15T13:44:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T18:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-whines-about-irish-man-held-by-ice-but-heres-why-hes-really-in-trouble\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T13:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T18:46:07","slug":"media-whines-about-irish-man-held-by-ice-but-heres-why-hes-really-in-trouble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-whines-about-irish-man-held-by-ice-but-heres-why-hes-really-in-trouble\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Whines About Irish Man Held by ICE, But Here&#8217;s Why He&#8217;s Really in Trouble"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmedia-whines-about-irish-man-held-by-ice-but-heres-why-hes-really-in-trouble%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2570178&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The piece centers on Seamus Culleton, an Irish national detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the United States. It notes that some media have framed his detention as part of a harsh immigration crackdown, while the article explains that Culleton, who is married to an American, reportedly faces three drug charges in Ireland and chose to remain in ICE custody rather than return home. Irish outlets and a deputy editor of the Irish Daily Mail are cited to corroborate the drug charges. ICE officials contend he entered the U.S.illegally in 2009 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mayorkas-not-all-1-2-million-illegal-immigrants-with-final-removal-orders-should-be-deported\/\" title=\"Mayorkas: Not All 1.2 Million Illegal Immigrants With ...s Should Be Deported\">received due process<\/a> before a final removal order was issued,while also highlighting that detention is his own decision and promoting self-deportation incentives,such as $2,600 and a free flight. The piece incorporates social media posts from Irish journalist garreth MacNamee and statements from U.S. officials to illustrate the competing narratives surrounding the case.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Several media outlets are reporting on the detention of Seamus Culleton of Ireland as yet another unjust crackdown from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>But they have failed to mention that Culleton, who is married to an American, faces <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-rapper-goes-ballistic-when-pulled-over-by-law-enforcement\/\" title=\"WATCH: Rapper Goes Ballistic When Pulled Over By Law Enforcement\">drug charges back<\/a> home, and would rather stay in ICE custody than face justice.<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/notthebee.com\/article\/the-media-has-been-crying-about-this-irish-guy-held-by-ice-guess-why-he-hasnt-returned-to-ireland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">noted<\/a> by Not The Bee, several media outlets published images of Culleton and his wife, Tiffany Smyth, alongside headlines such as &ldquo;Irishman fears for life after Trump ICE crackdown&rdquo; and &ldquo;An American dream morphs into a nightmare.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But it turns out that Culleton is remaining in ICE detention by choice.<\/p>\n<p>That&rsquo;s because he faces three drug charges back in Ireland, according to Garreth MacNamee, deputy news editor of the Irish Daily Mail.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Today, we&rsquo;ve confirmed that Seamus Culleton who is being detained by ICE in the US was facing three charges relating to drugs offences.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ICE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ICE<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JGW9cziOpx\">pic.twitter.com\/JGW9cziOpx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Garreth MacNamee (@garmacnamee) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/garmacnamee\/status\/2021908416923640124?\">February 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Today, we&rsquo;ve confirmed that Seamus Culleton who is being detained by ICE in the US was facing three charges relating to drugs offences,&rdquo; MacNamee revealed on X.<\/p>\n<p>Department of Homeland Secretary Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin meanwhile said in a statement that Culleton was illegally present in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;On September 9, 2025, ICE arrested Seamus Culleton, an illegal alien from Ireland. He entered the United States in 2009 under the visa waiver program, which allows you to stay in the U.S. for 90 days without a visa,&rdquo; she wrote on X.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He failed to depart the U.S. He <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >received full due process<\/a> and was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge on September 10, 2025.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Seamus Culleton received full due process and was issued a final deportation order from a federal judge.<\/p>\n<p>On September 9, 2025, ICE arrested Seamus Culleton, an illegal alien from Ireland. He entered the United States in 2009 under the visa waiver program, which allows you to&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EebjCaRBDK\">https:\/\/t.co\/EebjCaRBDK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TriciaOhio\/status\/2021329781841957276?\">February 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Culleton was offered a flight back to Ireland, but he instead &ldquo;chose to stay in ICE custody, in fact he took affirmative steps to remain in detention.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to use the CBP Home app to take control of their departure,&rdquo; McLaughlin continued.<\/p>\n<p>The official then reminded illegal aliens that the Trump administration offers them incentives if they choose to return home.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream,&rdquo; she continued.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several outlets are portraying Seamus Culleton\u2019s detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as another unjust crackdown, but they don\u2019t note that he faces three drug charges in Ireland and would apparently prefer to stay in ICE custody rather than return to Ireland to face trial. Not The Bee pointed out that some stories ran with images of Culleton and his wife, Tiffany Smyth, alongside sensational headlines. In fact, Irish reporting, including from Garreth MacNamee of the Irish Daily Mail, says Culleton is remaining in ICE custody by choice because of those Irish charges.<\/p>\n<p>On social media, MacNamee cited a February 12, 2026 post noting Culleton\u2019s detention. DHS official Tricia McLaughlin subsequently said that Culleton was illegally present in the United States; she claimed he entered in 2009 under the visa waiver program, did not depart, and received a final removal order on September 10, 2025. Culleton was offered a flight back to Ireland but chose to stay in ICE custody. McLaughlin framed detention as a choice and urged illegal entrants to use the CBP Home app to depart, highlighting incentives to self-deport\u2014$2,600 plus a free flight\u2014while warning that failure to depart could lead to arrest and deportation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2570179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Michael-Featured-Image-690.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[8364,3813,6347,72589,56439],"class_list":["post-2570178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-ice","tag-immigration","tag-irish","tag-legal-issues-2","tag-media-bias-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Michael-Featured-Image-690.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2570178"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2570182,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570178\/revisions\/2570182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2570179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2570178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2570178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2570178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}