It's not just how networks report the news, it's also what they choose to report. For example, we're led to believe that ICE is racially profiling and snatching black and brown people off the street, but here's an illegal alien from Ireland who's in ICE detention, or as he calls it, a modern-day concentration camp. He called into an Irish radio show on Monday to describe the horrific conditions, and someone at CBS News must have heard it and decided to write it up and publish a story.
Irish man Seamus Culleton held for months by ICE says he had U.S. work permit, and now fears for his life. https://t.co/tQgBHsjtvR
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 10, 2026
Here's a portion of the radio interview that CBS News transcribed and introduced to American audiences:
The incredible bravery it took for this individual to smuggle a phone into this concentration camp so he could do multiple interviews with a press and podcasts from inside.... oh wait a minute https://t.co/vaIRklqzJA
— Patrick Seven (@Patrick98109645) February 11, 2026
Correct me if I am wrong and I will accept the correction with complete humility.
— Marc J. Randazza 🇺🇸 🇮🇹 🇧🇷 (@marcorandazza) February 11, 2026
But can't he get out of there any time he wants by just saying "Sure, send me back to Ireland?"
(we can debate in another thread if that's what he should have to do, but is it not true?) https://t.co/Cm9ySZEJBW
CBS News did pretend to do some journalism by getting a statement from the administration.
[Assistant DHS Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia] McLaughlin confirmed that ICE agents arrested Culleton on Sept. 9, 2025, calling him "an illegal alien from Ireland" who entered the U.S. in 2009 under the tourist visa waiver program but then failed to depart the U.S. after the permitted 90 days.
"He received full due process and was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge on September 10, 2025," McLaughlin said. "He was offered the chance to instantly be removed to Ireland but chose to stay in ICE custody … A pending green card application and work authorization does not give someone legal status to be in our country."
He was offered the chance to be removed to Ireland instantly, but chose the concentration camp.
He chose to stay in ICE custody instead of taking a free flight back to Ireland.
— Edub's_Perspective (@Edub4change) February 10, 2026
Had a US work permit...after overstaying his tourist visa by two decades...
— XcentricXennial (@XcentricXennial) February 10, 2026
A work permit is not a valid status in the U.S.
— STRATic-X 🇺🇸 (@jpd_1) February 10, 2026
So… that’s not permission to live here.
— Noyb (@Noyb2021) February 10, 2026
Neither "a valid U.S. work permit" nor "a pending green card case as the spouse of an American citizen" changes the fact that Seamus Culleton is an illegal alien who has been unlawfully present almost two decades after he was admitted as a tourist for 90 days.
— Hart Celler (@8USC12) February 11, 2026
Yeah, he only overstayed his visa by 19 years and 3 months.
— Mary Schmid (@MarySchmid2) February 11, 2026
Why would he fear for his life??
— Dan Nelson (@IlliniDan2) February 10, 2026
Tell us more about the staff there killing people. The radio host didn't question it.
Irish scammer trying a new scam by saying he’s scared for his life 👌🏻
— DesLaurier (@hubertdeslauri1) February 10, 2026
He waited 19 years to apply for a green card. His work permit and driving licence were probably issued by the state. Culleton is probably not a bad guy, but starting a business and building a life in a country where you have not gone through the clear legal route is simply obtuse
— Michael Cold (@Devlin_Cold) February 10, 2026
@ICEgov are equal opportunity deporters. I respect that.
— M_Conti (@Br_2506) February 10, 2026
Can your activist (disguised as a journalist) @camiloreports explain what fears Irishmen face that prevent them from returning to their home country after their ESTAs expire? 🤡
— dr Petar Veličković (@u_dilemi) February 10, 2026
The work permit is tied to his April 2025 green card application, and has no bearing on his deportation order stemming from an overstay (2009-present). Media outlets are intentionally misrepresenting the "work permit" to mislead readers. https://t.co/v1zidhbNnF
— Dexter Jordan (@DEXTER_J0RDAN) February 10, 2026
An expired work permit, is not a work permit.
— Consumer (@fizzybubbles10) February 10, 2026
A fake work permit, is not a work permit.
A verbal work permit, is not a work permit.
A person without a work permit, is here illegally.
Questions?
Yes … why did CBS News decide to pick up this interview and essentially transcribe it, with the source being, "he says."
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