ICE can’t seem to catch a break as critics rake the agency over the coals for its latest actions. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s official X account posted a St. Patrick’s Day message, drawing backlash over the agency’s treatment of Irish nationals.
The department posted a picture on X of the ICE agents in their tactical gear, with a green explosion in the background, with the caption, “Happy Saint Patrick’s Day from ICE!” The post was met with swift backlash, with users flooding the comments to criticize the agency.
A user commented, “Removed the blur,” sharing a digitally edited image replacing the agents’ faces with those of Adolf Hitler. Another wrote, “Nah, this ain’t it – you’re literally making them look like a cartel.. this is horrible PR.” A fourth chimed in with: “When you have to blur their faces, you have a clear sign of who the bad guys are.”
ICE detained an Afghan man without charge … he died within hours of his arrest.
Mohommad Nazeer fought alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan.
He was seeking asylum in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/ssX9DcCKNU
— AJ+ (@ajplus) March 17, 2026
A user wrote, “A bit ironic as Ireland is one of the most left-wing countries in the world & a majority of its people probably despise ICE… also wasn’t there an Irish citizen who was detained in an immigration camp for months?”
A third joked, “Imagine being government employees and having their faces blurred…. Lol.”
Another wrote, “We don’t like you.” Lastly, one asked, “Why are you covering their faces if they are so proud to serve?” The backlash was a direct consequence of the federal agents detaining Seamus Culleton, an Irishman, who had been detained in the United States.
According to RTE 100, the law firm representing Culleton confirmed that he has been granted a pause from being deported from the United States. However, his request for release from the detention center in Texas was denied. He was detained by federal agents in October 2025 and spent the following five months fighting deportation and, by his own account, fighting for his life.
The firm said in a statement that the court has denied the US government’s request for a “quick resolution of his case.” This would have led to Seamus Culleton’s quick deportation from the country. However, Ogor Winnie Okoye, an attorney, said his removal should not occur before serious “statutory and constitutional questions are fully examined.”
In a separate post on X, an audio recording of Seamus Culleton was shared in which he called the detention center a “modern-day concentration camp.” He stated that he was locked in the same room for four and a half months, without having any outside time, and he could count the times that he was allowed outside.
Seamus Culleton is an Irish national being held by ICE in Texas for nearly 6 months. He’s lived in the U.S. for 20 years, is married to a U.S. citizen, has no criminal record, and was detained despite holding a valid work permit according to CBS News. pic.twitter.com/z6xB3srOuZ https://t.co/3o64GtemZ5
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) March 17, 2026
He described the inhumane conditions, where they were provided “kid-sized meals” twice a day, leaving every detainee hungry and tired. The toilets and showers, he said, were rarely cleaned. He added,
“I’m in fear for my life, honestly, because, you know, people have been killed by the staff here, by the security staff.”
He called living in the detention center a “nightmare” because they do not know what the day holds for them. However, when Culleton’s case came to light, he was charged with unlawful possession of drugs and making sales when he was 22 years old.
Additionally, he was responsible for obstruction in relation to an incident in 2008 in Glenmore. When he failed to appear in court, a judge issued his arrest warrant in 2009. Critics have alleged that his detention, despite a valid work permit, amounts to racial profiling — a characterization ICE has not publicly addressed.
