'Being in detention is a CHOICE': DHS encourages those in immigration detention to go home instead of stay in US

The Department of Homeland Security hit back on Thursday after an Irish man who has remained in the country illegally for nearly two decades likened the conditions of the Texas detention center he is being held in to concentration camps seen in Nazi Germany.

Seamus Culleton said in an interview with Irish news, "the best way I could describe it is probably like a modern-day concentration camp." He later added, "I’ve been detained now for five months, locked in the same room for four and a half of those months. It’s just, it’s just a torture. I don’t know how much more I can take." He claimed that at the El Paso, Texas facility, he’s been receiving small meals, limited time outside, and described dirty facilities and widespread sickness.

DHS said in regard to Culleton’s comments, "How gross. Calling detention facilities a 'concentration camp,' yet this individual (who was in our country illegally for 16 years) CHOSE to stay in detention for 5 months after he was issued a final deportation order and given full due process."

The department added, "Being in detention is a CHOICE — we encourage every illegal alien to take advantage of the CBP Home app to self-deport and have the opportunity to come back to our nation the RIGHT way."

Culleton has been in the US since 2009 and was apprehended by ICE on September 9 for overstaying a visa. He had been awaiting a green card interview at the time of his detention and had been living with his wife, who is a US citizen.

Per the Irish Times, Culleton arrived in the US in March of 2009 under a tourist visa, which allowed him to stay in the country for 90 days. In April of 2009, an Irish court issued a warrant for Culleton’s arrest for a May 2008 incident involving the alleged possession of drugs and possession of drugs for sale or supply. He was also facing charges of obstructing a garda for allegedly throwing 25 ecstasy tablets on the ground during a search. An additional warrant was issued ion September of 2009 stemming from a 2007 charge of criminal damage. The warrants reportedly remain in existence. Culleton married his wife in April of 2025.

DHS has said that claims of substandard conditions at ICE facilities are false. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told CBS News, "A pending green card application and work authorization does not give someone legal status to be in our country." She added, Being in detention is a choice," noting that the US is offering illegal immigrants $2,600 and a free flight if they self-deport.