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

#121

Post by tpm » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 12:08 PM UTC

roryirvine wrote: post #117

tpm wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In the old system a person could first seek asylum... Yes but that still means communicating with the institutions and having some sort of legal status. What is en masse happening in the US and to a lesser extent was (or is, not sure, but see for example the Windrush scandal) happening in the UK is that people legally enter the country and have for a time legal standing to reside there, but that lapses, laws change…

The Windrush situation is a bit different - the people involved were British Subjects, and didn't need any documentation when they arrived in the UK. The only thing that changed was the introduction of the "hostile environment" policy in 2012, meaning that everyone (including full UK citizens) must now prove that they have permission to be in the country before getting a job, renting a home, getting a bank account, e…

> I think it's worth pointing out that the people affected shouldn't have needed to regularise their situation, because it was never irregular in the first place!

This is what I don't agree with and exactly why I mentioned Windrush as an example. The situation was irregular because while they were legally entitled to stay, they didn't have a simple way to prove it. And once they needed that, it became an issue.

Now I assume most of them regularised their situation and some didn't and since the state knew enough about them to try to deport them, it should have fixed their status in the first place by issuing them the needed documents. But it didn't! And that was my original point - the state neglected their situation for decades, let them adapt to changing legislative environment on their own (or not), only to swing the axe (wrongly) without warning. If they were issued a citizen ID long ago none of that could ever happen.

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

#122

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

tpm wrote: post #112

kcplate wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

> for nearly 16 years he was skirting the system This is the one thing that pops up often in these cases and my European head can't understand this. Obviously people do this because they can but why does the system allow this? People should be forced to sort out their legal situation one way or another in timely manner, because if something happens after decades (like what's going on now) it will cause lots of damage…

In the US it’s easier. Certain states will issue you a drivers license even with a questionable immigration status. Once you get that, maintaining it is easy for long periods of time….basically obey the traffic laws and don’t drink and drive take an eye test and written test every 5-7 years and you are golden and keep it.

With a DL check cashing is a snap and it looked like this guy was a building sub-contractor which can and often operate in cash. Cash secured credit cards give you access to plastic. Healthcare doesn’t require an ID and hospitals are compelled by law to treat you if you are in a life threatening situation. Urgent care clinics will gladly accept cash to fix your sniffles.

I think the biggest issue that allows it is just inconsistent enforcement of our immigration laws from administration to administration and the general bureaucratic reset that happens every 4 to 8 years.

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

#123

Post by kcplate » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 2:49 PM UTC

insane_dreamer wrote: post #110

kcplate wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Sometimes the details betray the narrative. I believe even more strongly that this guy created his own mess after reading the ruling.

https://www.universalhub.com/files/attachments/2026/culleton...

There are quite a few missing but important details not in the news story. Apparently he complicated matters and put himself into a no win legal situation by choosing against applying for asylum. The “forged” signatures turned out to be a close match to checks that were provided to the court that he admitted to signing. He also admitted to the court that his memory was hazy around that time. There was also no need for immigration officials to forge his name on those documents because if he refused to sign the notice document it had the same legal result as if he did. SOP would be for an immigration official to simply indicate “refusal to sign” on the document.

Unfortunately our laws don’t always protect us from ourselves.

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

#124

Post by tpm » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 4:04 PM UTC

kcplate wrote: post #122

tpm wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> for nearly 16 years he was skirting the system This is the one thing that pops up often in these cases and my European head can't understand this. Obviously people do this because they can but why does the system allow this? People should be forced to sort out their legal situation one way or another in timely manner, because if something happens after decades (like what's going on now) it will cause lots of damage…

In the US it’s easier. Certain states will issue you a drivers license even with a questionable immigration status. Once you get that, maintaining it is easy for long periods of time….basically obey the traffic laws and don’t drink and drive take an eye test and written test every 5-7 years and you are golden and keep it. With a DL check cashing is a snap and it looked like this guy was a building sub-contractor whic…

Thank you, this is a valuable perspective. So essentially every person that lives this way doesn't pay income tax (and/or possibly other taxes) and the states, and most of the time the federal government too, just don't care?

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

#125

Post by palmotea » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 4:24 PM UTC

pas wrote: post #120

palmotea wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

the relevant facts would be, whether this guy has a criminal record. the rest is (legal) bullshit. laws are a (social) technology, enforcing them blindly is just as stupid as any kind of extremism, like "just ban private property" or "just let the market sort it out" and everything in between, and around. ("yes, all men" and so on.) after all there are laws about detention too. if I were DHS I'd be very afraid not to…

> the relevant facts would be, whether this guy has a criminal record. the rest is (legal) bullshit.

That's just your opinion, and a controversial one.

> after all there are laws about detention too. if I were DHS I'd be very afraid not to get picked up by law enforcement for breaking them. oh wait. :(

And honestly, detention conditions/process along with ICE tactics are where the focus should be, which are egregious and unacceptable and there seems like a consensus against them. But it's overreach to try to delegitimize all deportations or those of non-criminals, and that works against addressing the more serious issues. IMHO, polarization and overreach in the other direction gives the ICE abuses more cover than they'd otherwise get.

> and yes, there's a political goal. the polity wants to remove some people. the machinery is set to work. still, there are better and worse ways to do this. keeping this guy in this hunger games box is more expensive and less humane than putting him on a plane to Ireland.

Honestly, I think that could probably happen pretty fast if the guy wanted it. It seems like this guy is fighting his deportation through a PR campaign (e.g. drum up sympathetic coverage and hope that the rules are bent for the white guy).

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

#126

Post by 1attice » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 4:56 PM UTC

metalcrow wrote: post #107

1attice wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

"Just" is doing a lot of work in that problem restatement. It's not a word typically found in front of the phrase "cultural decision", although I commend the baldness of your ideological commitments.

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

#127

Post by kcplate » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 5:25 PM UTC

tpm wrote: post #124

kcplate wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US it’s easier. Certain states will issue you a drivers license even with a questionable immigration status. Once you get that, maintaining it is easy for long periods of time….basically obey the traffic laws and don’t drink and drive take an eye test and written test every 5-7 years and you are golden and keep it. With a DL check cashing is a snap and it looked like this guy was a building sub-contractor whic…

Thank you, this is a valuable perspective. So essentially every person that lives this way doesn't pay income tax (and/or possibly other taxes) and the states, and most of the time the federal government too, just don't care?

If you are getting paid in cash you are only paying income tax if you actually set out to do so. Operating fully in cash is getting harder and harder as we progress to a more cashless society, but right now, still do-able.

The government always cares when it is not getting its share, but enforcement is probably more by accident rather than intention. If you are living modestly and are not calling out any sort of government paper trail to yourself (avoiding government services, police interactions), you are probably not going to attract any investigation.

These sweeps that we are seeing change that a bit. Easier to get ensnared.

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

#128

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 5:38 PM 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…

[deleted]

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

#129

Post by profsummergig » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 5:46 PM UTC

ivewonyoung wrote: post #100

profsummergig wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realize this is complicated, I didn't say you needed to be a US resident to register a company. I said that most pre-GC work-permits (e.g. H1B) don't allow you to own a US-based business. If you're here on a work-permit, they (the govt.) expect you to be an employee of your sponsor, they don't want you to start a business. To your point, one can be an investor in a US company without having a US visa/residence/work…

>I said that most pre-GC work-permits (e.g. H1B) don't allow you to own a US-based business You can absolutely own a US-based business on a H1B, like you can buy shares in companies, it's just a 100% share. You just cannot work for your company without having an approved H1B from that business or having some other generalized work permit like an EAD.

I think that this might be the accurate take:

That you are not allowed to work for a business (even if you own it) without a work-permit to work for it.

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

#130

Post by yencabulator » Tue, Feb 10, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC

zarzavat wrote: post #108

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…

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.

The US has a very strong belief in punishing people. It helps them create an "out group" to shun. For those people, the worse the conditions of your jail are, the better. It's some sort of a relic of the specific religious background common in the USA, and it's disgusting.

Other parts of the world believe in human dignity and helping people fix the things that are broken in their lives. Look up Norwegian prisons...