Daughters of Irishman held by ICE say father abandoned them and should return to face drug charges: report

The estranged twin daughters of an Irishman who has been held in a Texas immigration detention facility for nearly five months blasted their father as an absentee parent — arguing he should be sent back to Ireland to face long-standing drug charges, according to a report.

Heather and Melissa Morrissey felt compelled to speak out after their father, Seamus Culleton, pleaded on RTÉ radio for Irish authorities to intervene in his US detention so he could return to his American wife and life in Boston, where he runs a construction company, according to the Daily Mail.

The twins, who are about to turn 19, told the outlet that Culleton “abandoned” them when they were 18 months old, leaving their mother, Margaret “Maggie” Morrissey, to raise them alone.

“I feel that we were born and he just up and left. He did abandon us. That’s what he did,” Heather told the outlet about her father, who Department of Homeland authorities said overstayed his 90-day tourist visa more than 15 years ago.

The sisters said they have not received “a penny” in child support from their father and never saw him in person again after he moved to the US.

They also said Culleton was naive to come forward about his immigration case with the outstanding drug charges against him.

The alleged deadbeat dad was hit with several charges in Ireland in 2008 for intent to sell or supply, possession of drugs for personal consumption, and obstructing a garda, or a police officer, in the course of their duty, the outlet reported.

A district court in New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland, later sought a bench warrant after Culleton failed to appear in court, though it was never issued because he had already left the country, according to the publication.

“He was making himself out to be a saint, like he’s done nothing wrong, like he knows that there are warrants here for his arrest and that was going to come out,” Heather added.

The twins said they were stunned to hear their father’s voice when he called into RTÉ radio, describing the “torture” he’s experienced after being locked up at a Fort Bliss Army base in Texas.

Heather noted that Culleton contacted her briefly after his detention, but only after she asked a relative to prompt him to call.

“He told me that he got detained by ICE… he doesn’t know when he’s going to get out. That was about it. I haven’t heard from him since then,” she said.

The sisters also expressed anger over a GoFundMe campaign that has raised nearly $30,000 for Culleton’s legal fees, with Melissa calling it “nearly child maintenance money.”

They also said they were hurt by comments from Culleton’s wife, Tiffany Smyth, on TikTok that she wanted her husband to return to their Boston home to take care of their “babies” in reference to their dogs.

“They’re dogs. I understand people love animals and all that, but he has children. His dogs aren’t his children,” said Heather.

The Post has been unable to locate the TikToks described in the report, though the GoFundMe for Culleton referenced the pair’s dogs, “Caesar & Cleopatra.”

Culleton told Irish media that he had a valid US work permit and a pending green card application when he was nabbed by agents after stopping at a Home Depot.

He was cuffed and eventually flown more than 2,000 miles from home to a camp facility in Texas, where he alleged he’s been locked in the same “filthy” room.

In a statement on X, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Culleton “received full due process and was issued a final deportation order from a federal judge.”

“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,” McLaughin said.

“He failed to depart the U.S. He received full due process and was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge on September 10, 2025. He was offered the chance to instantly be removed to Ireland but chose to stay in ICE custody, in fact he took affirmative steps to remain in detention.”

As his case made its way through the immigration courts, Culleton claims he has been forced to endure torturous conditions that have left him fearing for his life.

“You don’t know what’s going to happen on a day-to-day basis. You don’t know if there’s going to be riots, you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Culleton said, adding that he has been locked in the same room for months.

“I have barely any outside time, no fresh air, no sunshine. We have two TVs on the wall, there are 72 detainees here in total. We get three meals a day, very very small meals – kid size meals, so everybody is hungry,” he said, adding that the “completely nasty” bathrooms are “very rarely cleaned.”

Politicians in the detained man’s native Ireland have vowed to complain to the White House about his case.