Irish man with valid US work permit held in ICE detention for five months • Hacker News Board

Re: Irish man with valid US work permit held in ICE detention for five months

#101

Post by ivewonyoung » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 2:09 AM UTC

pavlov wrote: post #20

stackskipton wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My opinion is probably not but this is ultimately a political conversation. The article is extremely light on details but fact he doesn't have a Green Card/Lawful Permanent Resident yet would indicate that at some point of his time in United States, he was illegally present, probably for a while. Sure, he's on path, MAYBE (that's up to immigration courts), to legal status but he's not quite there yet and it's one of…

> “at some point of his time in United States, he was illegally present, probably for a while” How do you conclude that from the facts in the article?

Huh, the headline is very misleading but the article says this:

> Culleton entered the US in 2009 on a visa waiver programme and overstayed the 90 day-limit

> Culleton said that when he was arrested he was carrying a Massachusetts driving licence and a valid work permit issued as part of an application for a green card that he initiated in April 2025

That's about 15 years of illegal stay according to "the facts in the article".

Re: Irish man with valid US work permit held in ICE detention for five months

#102

Post by ivewonyoung » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 2:16 AM UTC

ylow wrote: post #61

colmmacc wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't support this kind of detention, but the case reads like he overstayed his original conditions of entry. According to the court order, he entered the US on the Visa Waiver Program in 2009. He may have a work permit now because anyone can file for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) through an I-765 while they are applying for a green card through marriage, but there's no indication that he had work perm…

Whether he did really have valid work permits, or not, I have no idea. You seem knowledgeable. But I am just generally mildly frustrated by people online jumping to conclusions assuming malice or criminal intent, while knowing nothing about the US immigration process. It is not surprising that people don't know how US immigration works. Why would one need to unless it is something you have to work with? There are so…

> You seem knowledgeable. But I am just generally mildly frustrated by people online jumping to conclusions assuming malice or criminal intent, while knowing nothing about the US immigration process

The other side of the coin is that outlets like the Guardian have been intentionally omitting details and writing misleading headlines and stories in order to exaggerate things in a partisan manner. If the person's immigration status from 2010 to mid 2025 was legal, they would've posted that. They have been literally quoting his lawyer in the article. There's been several dozens of such intentionally misleading articles.

Re: Irish man with valid US work permit held in ICE detention for five months

#103

Post by kcplate » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 2:22 AM UTC

insane_dreamer wrote: post #93

vilhelm_s wrote: post #17

There is a copy of a court order here which gives more legal details [ https://www.universalhub.com/files/attachments/2026/culleton... ] > The Fifth Circuit has held that the VWP statute “‘unambiguously’ limits an alien’s means of contesting removal solely to an application for asylum.” McCarthy v. Mukasey, 555 F.3d 459, 460 (5th Cir. 2009) (citation omitted). And once an individual violates the terms of the VWP by r…

It's shocking that the court could determine this when the whole process of getting permanent residency involves an adjustment of status that allows you to remain in the country even though your visa has expired so long as your application is being processed (which can take a very long time). You just can't leave the country. So to arrest someone while they are following the steps they're supposed to be following, is…

> So to arrest someone while they are following the steps they're supposed to be following

I think the issue complicating this man’s situation is that it appears when you dig into the details that for nearly 16 years he was skirting the system and only tried getting his legal situation resolved just a few months prior to his detainment. He is choosing to fight it which is resulting in the long detention.

Personally I believe we need some legal carve outs for this type of situation, but there is simply no doubt that this guy made a series of poor decisions prior to April of 2025 that has created the situation he is in.

Re: Irish man with valid US work permit held in ICE detention for five months

#104

Post by tamimio » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 3:35 AM UTC

> Mr Culleton said he would like Taoiseach Micheál Martin to mention his case to President Donald Trump when he visits the Oval Office next month.

Wow, so basically a banana republic, any matter should be resolved by one person, literally the president himself!!

> "To this day we still don't know why he was picked up by ICE.

I think they are thinking of “criminal records”, and they see there’s nothing so it should be ok, but I suggest they dig deeper, it’s not about crimes anymore, he probably said something in social media criticizing XYZ and that’s enough to flag him for deportation, that’s the reality now.

Re: Irish man with valid US work permit held in ICE detention for five months

#105

Post by mktk1001 » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 3:43 AM UTC

balozi wrote: post #58

gamesbrainiac wrote: post #44

We have seen many stories like this. Some doubt the authenticity, but what is evident is that these things are happening again and again with impunity. Perhaps you don't think the situation is bad enough, or the details are exaggerated. However, the fact that a man can be pulled of the street despite having legal status should be alarming. You don't need to care about the Irishman, but you should care about justice.

[flagged]

I I don't remember anyone harassing people on the streets based on their skin color, and shooting American citizens for exercising their rights.

Re: Irish man with valid US work permit held in ICE detention for five months

#106

Post by dalyons » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 4:00 AM UTC

profsummergig wrote: post #91

ranger_danger wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People from other countries can own US companies even if they've never been to the US.

If they are in the US on a work-permit, they have to follow the limitations of the work-permit. They are not free to follow the affordances available to people who are outside the US. For most temporary work-permits, owning a business is not permitted. The govt. wants the worker to work for their sponsor, not own a business. After one gets a GC (i.e. permanent residence), one is free to work for anyone, or start busi…

That’s not actually quite true. You can own a business on a work permit, you just can’t work for it. Which is mostly a pointless arrangement, but possible.

Re: Irish man with valid US work permit held in ICE detention for five months

#107

Post by metalcrow » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 4:06 AM UTC

1attice wrote: post #97

metalcrow wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a real answer, if something being posted to HN only requires it be relevant to someone and be interesting, doesn't that mean that anything is allowed? There is currently a conflict between groups of HN users as to what is reasonable to post here and what isn't.

That is how the guidelines read. If practice varies from theory, one must ask who, and what, is being practiced.

Well not exactly. The guidelines are contradictory. They say that "Anything that good hackers would find interesting" is on topic, but "Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports" are off topic. How do you resolve the difference? It's just a cultural decision as to what is allowed and what isn't.

Re: Irish man with valid US work permit held in ICE detention for five months

#108

Post by zarzavat » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 4:13 AM UTC

stackskipton wrote: post #14

medion wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even with some co-mingling of facts, is 5 months detention still proportionate? That’s the crux of it.

My opinion is probably not but this is ultimately a political conversation. The article is extremely light on details but fact he doesn't have a Green Card/Lawful Permanent Resident yet would indicate that at some point of his time in United States, he was illegally present, probably for a while. Sure, he's on path, MAYBE (that's up to immigration courts), to legal status but he's not quite there yet and it's one of…

I know of no other country that locks people up while they process immigration appeals. That's crazy.

Other countries will either summarily deport you and make you resolve your status from outside the country, or let you stay while you appeal and deport you when your appeals are exhausted. Both are sane things to do, this is not.

Re: Irish man with valid US work permit held in ICE detention for five months

#109

Post by palmotea » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 5:21 AM UTC

ylow wrote: post #66

palmotea wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you can maintain a work permit for 20 years, why not? But did he? The OP is mum on the matter about what kind of work permit he had for the 19 years before applying for a green card last year. If he did have some kind of work permit, it sounds like a really strange situation. The article says was running his own business, was he sponsoring himself on a temporary worker visa or something? Given the gaps in the ar…

There is no obligation to provide the public with his life story. Even if provided, few really understand the US immigration process to really comprehend what it means. And finally, does it matter? Even if deportation is fully legally and ethically justified, do the ends justify the means?

> There is no obligation to provide the public with his life story.

There is an obligation that a reputable newspaper will publish all relevant facts. The initial version of this article was misleading and appeared to omit relevant context to create a sympathetic story.

However, the article has since been updated:

> Culleton entered the US in 2009 on a visa waiver programme and overstayed the 90 day-limit but, after marrying a US citizen and applying for lawful permanent residence, he obtained a statutory exemption that allowed him to work, [his lawyer] told the Guardian. “He had a work-approved authorisation that is tied to a green card application,” she said.

> ...

> Culleton said that when he was arrested he was carrying a Massachusetts driving licence and a valid work permit issued as part of an application for a green card that he initiated in April 2025. He has a final interview remaining.

So it sounds like he was living and working illegally in the US from 2009 until April 2025. It's not clear to me if "statutory exemption" should legally shield him from deportation. Some cursory LLM searches say it doesn't, but I don't think that's definitive.

> And finally, does it matter? Even if deportation is fully legally and ethically justified, do the ends justify the means?

What do you mean? Does the ends of having enforced laws justify enforcing the law? There's a lot going on with this administration an immigration that's totally unjustifiable (like deporting people to random countries with poor human rights records that they have no connection to), but deporting someone who appears to have long violated immigration law back to their home in a first-world country is not some moral outrage. Trying to promote this case into an outrage does no one any good. It only undermines the credibility needed to call out real outrages.

Re: Irish man with valid US work permit held in ICE detention for five months

#110

Post by insane_dreamer » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 6:21 AM UTC

kcplate wrote: post #103

insane_dreamer wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's shocking that the court could determine this when the whole process of getting permanent residency involves an adjustment of status that allows you to remain in the country even though your visa has expired so long as your application is being processed (which can take a very long time). You just can't leave the country. So to arrest someone while they are following the steps they're supposed to be following, is…

> So to arrest someone while they are following the steps they're supposed to be following I think the issue complicating this man’s situation is that it appears when you dig into the details that for nearly 16 years he was skirting the system and only tried getting his legal situation resolved just a few months prior to his detainment. He is choosing to fight it which is resulting in the long detention. Personally I…

yeah, probably so. but what should matter is whether you're in compliance _now_. But if we do really want to arrest people who were at some point out of compliance in terms of their visa status, let's start with Elon and Melania, and we can talk about going through everyone's else's history and deporting them if they broke the immigration rules.