Detention and deportation of American citizens in the second Trump administration

ICE agents have been involved in the detention and deportation of American citizens from the United States.

During the second presidency of Donald Trump, federal immigration enforcement policies have resulted in the documented arrest,^[1] detention,^[2] and deportation^[3][4] of American citizens. Officials working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have increased their efforts to detain and deport illegal immigrants, with these operations resulting in harm to U.S. citizens.^[5] ICE has been confirmed by independent review and U.S. judges to have violated laws such as the Immigration Act of 1990, by interrogating and detaining people without warrants or review of their citizenship status.^[1]

High-profile detention cases include a group of actively working firefighters,^[6][7] a disabled child accused of being a convicted adult MS-13 gang member,^[8] a disabled military veteran,^[9][10] members of Congress,^[11] New York City officials,^[12] a United States marshal,^[13] Puerto Ricans and indigenous people living in the American Southwest—all of whom were U.S. citizens wrongfully held by immigration authorities.^[5][14] Notable deportation cases involved children who hold U.S. citizenship and their non-citizen parents, including a child undergoing brain cancer treatment^[3] and a natural born citizen who was illegally deported twice in 1999,^[15] which the Trump administration began attempting to deport again in 2025.^[15] It is illegal to deport U.S. citizens from the United States.^[a][15]

Donald Trump supported taking away citizenship from Americans^[16] and storing citizens in foreign prisons noted for human rights abuses.^[17][18][19] Due to the actions of the Trump administration, it has been reported that naturalized citizens of multiple origins now carry their United States passports as proof of citizenship outside of the home and avoid going out in public as often in order to avoid contact by federal agents.^[20] Congressional Democrats have challenged the Trump administration to justify the detention of U.S. citizens and have been blocked by the Trump administration from investigating, passing laws limiting abuses, or overseeing immigration actions affecting U.S. citizens.^[21] Trump, other Republicans, and Trump administration officials have alternately confirmed,^[2] defended,^[22] and denied^[22] reports that American citizens were arrested, deported, and detained under immigration law.

Civil rights activists have compared the impact of ICE on American citizens to concentration camps such as Manzanar.^[23][24] Between 110,000 and 120,000 U.S. citizens^[25] were imprisoned by the U.S. government during the internment of Japanese Americans for political reasons from 1942 to 1945.^[23][24] The right-wing Cato Institute called Trump's immigration regime damaging to American interests.^[1] The Trump administration's treatment of U.S. citizens raised concerns among civil rights advocates.^[1] Legal and immigration experts stated these legal violations were caused by Trump administration pressure to deport people quickly without safeguards.^[14]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent non-partisan agency of the United States Congress, found that up to 70 American US citizens were deported by ICE between 2015 and 2020.^[26] In the same time period, ICE was confirmed to have arrested 674 potential U.S. citizens and detained 121.^[26] Investigators determined that both ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) maintain poor and insufficient records, and the numbers may be higher.^[26] The GAO found that ICE has defects and loopholes in their training and operations.^[26] The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse found that ICE named 2,840 U.S. citizens as eligible for deportation between 2002 and 2017.^[26] Of those, 214 citizens were arrested by ICE.^[26] Based on research and surveys of immigration attorneys, Jacqueline Stevens of Northwestern University estimated 1% of all ICE detainees are U.S. citizens, based on pre-Trump Presidents, but that the rates will increase under Trump's immigrant hunting programs.^[27]

Studies proved both ICE and CBP have a history of racism and racial profiling among their rank and file, the American Immigration Lawyers Association reported.^[26]

Notable detained US citizens included a group of actively working firefighters protecting homes near Olympic National Forest, who were then ordered to depart;^[6][7] and Davino Watson, held for three years in an Alabama jail over false and disproven claims he was not a US citizen.^[26] The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ultimately denied Watson's claims despite being imprisoned as a citizen for false claims of being an immigrant.^[26]

Trump's "border czar", Tom Homan, said ICE agents could detain people "based on the location, their occupation, their physical appearance, [or] their actions."^[2] Homan also confirmed that ICE had made what he described as "collateral arrests" of "many" American citizens.^[2]

According to Homan, ICE may detain people "based on the location, their occupation, their physical appearance, their actions like... the person walks away."^[1] He objected to U.S. citizens and others exercising their constitutional and legal rights, framing the sharing of "Know Your Rights" information as "defiance" of the Trump administration.^[28] Homan said such knowledge was harmful to law enforcement activities.^[28]

On August 13, 2025, Homan claimed that Trump had "unlimited" power and no limitations on his authority in immigration matters, saying, "President Trump doesn’t have a limitation on his authority to make this country safe. There’s no limitation."^[29]

Stephen Miller, the homeland security advisor to Donald Trump, was reported to have ordered American security forces to arrest at least 3,000 people per day nationwide.^[30] According to these reports, ICE agents were directed by Miller to detain anyone they believed to be undocumented, regardless of legal or warrant status.^[30] Critics described these directives as racial profiling.^[30]

The Cato Institute stated that there was a three-fold increase in the targeting of Hispanic Americans by ICE officials after Miller instructed the agency to stop "develop[ing] target lists of immigrants" and instead "go out on the street" to immediately detain people at "Home Depots or 7-Elevens".^[1]

Despite longstanding legal prohibitions against deporting American citizens, President Donald Trump explored the possibility of transferring citizens convicted of crimes to foreign prisons during his second presidential term.^[31][17] Trump publicly stated numerous times that his administration was examining whether such actions could be legally pursued.^[17][19][32]

Under the law of the United States,^[a] a U.S. citizen cannot legally be deported and has the legal right to return to the United States at any time.^[33][34] Prior to the second Trump administration, some academic studies attempted to count the number of unlawful detention and deportations of American citizens that had previously occurred; one study estimated that from 2003 to 2011 more than 20,000 Americans were incorrectly detained or deported by immigration officials.^[35][36]

Beginning with his second presidential administration, Trump pushed for mass deportations along with reducing safeguards to stop inappropriate detentions and deportations. This process resulted in American citizens becoming entangled in enforcement efforts.^[14] New York magazine described the problem as, "[i]t's not a matter of if U.S. citizens are getting caught up in President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and mass-deportation efforts but, rather, how and how many."^[5]

On February 4, 2025, Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele stated in a White House visit his willingness to house people of any nationality detained by the United States, including American citizens, in the maximum security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador for payment. He confirmed the statement on X, writing that he had offered the U.S. "the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system".^[37] Although the U.S. government cannot legally deport U.S. citizens,^[31] Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration would study whether the U.S. constitution and laws would enable the administration to do so.^[38]

Rubio called the offer "very generous", noting that it was the first time another country had made such an offer, and that it would cost a fraction of imprisoning criminals in the U.S. prison system. Trump said he was looking into whether he could move forward with the offer, telling reporters "if we had a legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat", but he was not sure whether that legal right existed, and the administration was assessing it.^[31][17][32] Trump said the cost of incarcerating American prisoners in other countries would be much less than that of imprisoning people in the U.S., and in addition "it would be a great deterrent."^[32] He said that several countries had already agreed to host American prisoners.^[32]

Elon Musk called the proposal a "Great idea!!" on X.^[37] Rubio specified that this would apply to dangerous criminals.^[32] However, Politico noted that Bukele said on X that El Salvador would gladly take U.S. ex-senator Bob Menendez, who was serving an 11-year prison sentence for bribery but who was not a violent criminal.^[32]

In response to vandalizing Teslas, Trump suggested that such "terrorist thugs" could be sent to Salvadoran prisons.^[39] Ahead of Bukele's White House visit in April 2025, Trump confirmed that they would discuss sending Americans to El Salvador's prisons,^[40] giving his stance as "If they can house these horrible criminals for a lot less money than it costs us, I'm all for it."^[18] When Trump met with Bukele at the White House on April 14, they continued to discuss the topic of sending Americans to CECOT, with Trump exploring its legality.^[17][19][18]

During the visit, Trump and Bukele discussed the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, which courts and news outlets described as illegal.^[41][42] In this context, Trump was quoted as advocating deporting U.S. citizens, telling Bukele: "Home-growns are next. The home-growns. You gotta build about five more places. It's not big enough."^[43][44]

Insha Rahman, vice president of advocacy for the Vera Institute of Justice, stated that no reasonable reading of "the Constitution or due process" would allow the President to send American citizens to serve their time in foreign prisons. Lauren-Brooke Eisen, the senior director of the justice program at the Brennan Center for Justice, told Politico that the proposal would be illegal because it violates the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, as well as the First Step Act, which requires Americans sentenced to prison to serve in facilities that are "as close as practicable to the prisoner's primary residence, and to the extent practicable, in a facility within 500 driving miles of that residence".^[19]

The BBC noted that while U.S. citizens enjoy legal protection from deportation, it is possible for naturalized citizens to be denaturalized. This can happen when the citizenship was fraudulently obtained, and thus, citizens suspected of ties to criminal gangs or terrorist organizations, such as Tren de Aragua or MS-13, could, in theory, be stripped of citizenship and then deported after due process. Citizens born in the U.S. cannot be denaturalized.^[45]

Besides researching whether the Trump administration could send American citizens to foreign prisons, the Trump administration also was looking into stripping citizenship away and deporting certain citizens through the denaturalization process as reported in July 2025.^[46] The Department of Justice wrote in a memorandum that the civil division is going to "prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence."^[46]

United States Representative Andy Ogles called for US citizen Zohran Mamdani, a candidate in elections for Mayor of New York City, to be denaturalized and expelled from the United States.^[47]

President Trump threatened to denaturalize comedian Rosie O'Donnell, who was born in New York state.^[16]

There have been documented and reported deportations of American citizens,^[3] which is illegal for the U.S. government to do.^[a][15] On Meet the Press, Trump Secretary of State Marco Rubio disputed that the Trump administration deported U.S. citizen children.^[4] Rubio stated, "Three U.S. citizens—ages 4, 7 and 2—were not deported. Their mothers, who were illegally in this country, were deported."^[4]

Several U.S. citizens, including immigration lawyers, received notices from the federal government instructing them to "self-deport".^[49] It is unclear as to why this occurred and if it was an administrative error, nor was there any response from the DHS, other than that some of the letters may have been sent to unintended recipients. Lawyers have expressed concerns this is a fear or intimidation tactic.^[49]

A 2-year-old American citizen, identified only as VML was deported to Honduras with her mother, Jenny Carolina Lopez-Villela,^[50] on April 25, 2025.^[51][52] VML, referred to by her initials in court documents to protect her privacy, was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2023.^[53]

Lopez-Villela, and VML's sister ("Janelle" in court documents) came to the United States in September 2019 to seek asylum after the attempted kidnapping of Janelle. They awaited court hearing in Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols.^[54] They attended two hearings before they were forced to return to Honduras in November 2019 to avoid dangerous conditions in Matamoros. While they were in Honduras, an immigration court ordered them removed in absentia in March 2020 and they were never informed of this. They returned to the border in March 2021 to seek asylum but while waiting to get in, they were again kidnapped, this time in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. They were eventually released and entered the U.S. in August 2021. They were released to the custody of Janelle's father in Louisiana and were instructed to attend regular ICE check ins, which they did. During this time, VML was born in 2023. In February 2025, Lopez-Villela was placed in the "Intensive Supervision Appearance Program" and on April 22, 2025 they went to the ISAP appointment where they were detained.^[55]

On April 22, 2025, Lopez-Villela, who is a Honduran citizen, was asked to bring her children with her when attending a check in with ICE.^[56][52] During the check in, VML, Janelle, and Lopez-Villela who is pregnant, were detained and VML's passport was taken away.^[57][58] According to court filings, the three were taken to a hotel in Alexandria, three hours away, and were told they were to be deported the next day. Julia was then allowed to talk to VML's father, her partner, for less than a minute on an ICE officer's phone with the ICE officer present. VML's father was told that VML would be deported, to which he objected since she was an American. He tried to read out a lawyer's phone number, but the ICE officer hung up. According to the court filing, she was not allowed to arrange for VML's care. An attorney working for VML's family attempted to set up a call for the family and delivered a mandate delegating custody of VML to another family member living in the United States. ICE refused to set up the call or provide information and their whereabouts.^[55]

Over the next two days - according to court documents - VML, Lopez-Villela and Janelle were detained by ICE; at times in the hotel in Alexandria and at times, for up to 5 hours, in a van at the airport. During this time, VML's father reached out to ICE and was told that he could attempt to pick up his daughter, but that he would also be "taken into custody" and deported if he did so.^[59] His lawyer called immigration officials to let them know that VML is a U.S. citizen and could not be deported. The lawyer repeatedly attempted to set up a phone call with Lopez-Villela and between VML's parents, but was denied; and to determine their whereabouts. In a phone call with DOJ’s Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) on the 24th they finally found out where the three were, but OIL refused to hand VML over to anyone other than her father. During this time, VML's father was erroneously told that the three had been sent to Washington, DC and would call him from there. Following the call with OIL, the lawyer filed a habeas petition and a motion for a temporary restraining order. Later an ICE officer told Lopez-Villela to sign a paper saying she would take her daughter with her, when she refused she was threatened that if she did not, they would be sent to a foster home; so she wrote what she was told to write. This was then submitted to the court early in the morning as part of a response to the habeas petition. Before the court could respond to the habeas petition, the family was deported to Honduras, according to court filings.^[60][55]

On April 29th, the DHS issued a statement in which they claimed that Lopez-Villela "chose to bring her younger daughter.. with her to Honduras."^[50]

At a court hearing, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty said deportation of a U.S. citizen is "illegal and unconstitutional" and that he had a "strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process."^{[53][61][62][63]} Judge Doughty ordered a hearing on the matter for May 16, 2025.^[48]

In speaking about the deportation of VML and two other young children who are American citizens, the executive director of ACLU of Louisiana said, "Once again, the government has used deceptive tactics to deny people their rights. These outrageous actions must be condemned. We as a nation are better than this. These families deserve better. They must be returned."^[64]

In May 2025, the family of VML voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit against the Trump administration "to give themselves space and time to consider all the options that are available to them."^[60] On July 31, 2025 they filed a new lawsuit, along with another family with two American children, aged 4 and 7 seeking declaratory, Administrative Procedure Act and injunctive relief along with money damages for the violation of their rights.^[55]

Two American citizens, a 7-year-old girl (identified as AAZM in court documents) and her 4-year-old brother Romeo, were banished from the U.S. to Honduras along with their mother, a Honduran national, on April 25, 2025. Romeo has stage 4 cancer.^[65][66][67]

Romeo and AAZM's mother, Reachel Alexas Morales-Valle,^[50] crossed into the United States in 2013 at the age of 13 and claimed asylum at the border. Following a February 2025 traffic stop, she was detained by ICE and placed in the ISAP supervision program which prompted her to hire an immigration attorney. After hiring an attorney she discovered that she had been issued an in absentia order of removal in 2015. She attended all of her ISAP appointments and met all requirements. While trying to reschedule an appointment she was told to bring her American children and their passports to an appointment the next day in Saint Rose, Louisiana.^[68][69]

According to an attorney for the family, RMZ was told the purpose of the check in was to photocopy the children's passports, and the children wore their school uniforms, expecting to return to school once the appointment was over.^[70] The three of them were separated from their lawyer and then detained.^[69] The children's mother was not permitted to speak with an attorney or family members prior to their deportation, despite trying to do so.^[52][57] ICE agents then demanded that RMZ sign a document without explanation of what it said and without allowing her to talk to her lawyer about it, which she refused to do. ICE agents informed them that they would be deported, refused a request to talk to their lawyer and then allowed them a brief call to the father to inform him they were being deported. They were taken out through the back, to avoid their lawyer, and driven 3 hours to a hotel in Alexandria. Later, their lawyer was informed that they had been transferred, but gave no further information.^[70] The lawyer was told to take the matter up with an office in New Orleans, which they did - filing a stay of removal and pointing out that they were not properly notified which should result in an automatic stay. The lawyer then asked to talk to a supervisor but was told no one was available. The lawyer spent much of the day trying to identify the location of RMZ and her children and to make arrangement for the children prior to deportation, but was unable to get responses to her requests. That night RMZ was able to make a brief call on an ICE agent's phone to her father and tell him they were in Alexandria and were to be deported the next day, but then the agent hung up the phone.^[55]

In the early morning hours of April 25, 2025, RMZ and her children were driven to the airport and forced on to a plane, while ICE and other immigration staff ignored requests from RMZ's lawyer. As they were on the plane, ICE officials told the lawyer that the stay of removal application had been denied, though the lawyer had received no such formal notification. RMZ and her family were then flown to Honduras, the children's passports were returned and an officer tried again to get her sign the documents she had refused to sign in Louisiana.^[55]

Attorneys for both the mother and the children insisted that the children were deported illegally. The attorneys provided evidence demonstrating that their mother, other family members, and attorneys "had little to no chance" to arrange for the children to stay in the U.S. rather than being deported.^[52][56] The attorneys were in the midst of preparing habeas corpus petitions for the children, but the children were deported before the attorneys could file them.^[71]

The 4-year-old had his cancer medication with him, but was not permitted to access it in detention,^[57] and was not allowed to bring the medication with him when he was deported.^[71] ICE was aware of the 4-year-old's cancer diagnosis and that he was undergoing treatment prior to his deportation.^[57]

Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's "border czar", insinuated that the children are anchor babies, commenting that "Having a U.S. citizen child after you enter this country illegally is not a get-out-of-jail free card."^[69] In speaking about the deportation of these children and another U.S. citizen child, Homan insisted that the children's mothers requested their children be removed from the country, and said it was preferable to keep the families together.^[52][72] Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that the children had been deported, instead saying that they "went with their mothers," and that because they are citizens, they could return to the U.S. if the families arranged for someone in the U.S. to care for them.^[52][57] In a statement from DHS, they again asserted that "she chose to bring both children...with her to Honduras."^[50]

In August, the National Immigration Project filed a lawsuit on behalf of Morales-Valle, her family and the family of a 2-year old American deported at the same time. The lawsuit said they were unlawfully denied due process and deported (they noted that "Courts have observed that the U.S. Government cannot “deport” a United States citizen. In fact, some courts have posited that the term “banished” is most appropriate for this scenario to avoid the appearance of legitimacy or normalcy." But "For simplicity’s sake" they used the term “deport” throughout their complaint). In the suit they allege that the mothers said they wanted their children to remain in the US but the families were “illegally deported without even a semblance of due process”.^[73] They sued for declaratory relief, Administrative Procedure Act relief, injunctive relief, and money damages for the violation of their rights.

A 10-year-old girl with brain cancer, who is an American citizen, was deported with her family to Mexico, along with four siblings of whom 4 are also citizens, after being stopped at an immigration checkpoint while on the way to an emergency medical appointment.^[3][74]

Miguel Silvestre is a U.S. citizen born in Stockton, California.^[15] In 1999, he was described in news reports as being deported twice despite his citizenship.^[15] Later, while visiting Mexico on vacation, he was denied reentry into the United States and spent two weeks in detention under the George W. Bush administration.^[15] ICE records identified him as a Mexican citizen, which was incorrect.^[15] A judge permanently corrected his status in 2004, ruling that he had been wrongly labeled for deportation.^[15]

In June 2025, news outlets reported that a new deportation order was issued for Silvestre to Mexico.^[15] The order was confirmed by the San Francisco Chronicle and KCRA-TV; Silvestre has a birth certificate proving his birth in California.^[75]

ICE officials disputed these accounts.^[15] ICE later stopped responding to inquiries from the San Francisco Chronicle and KCRA-TV on the matter.^[75]

The impact of ICE and Trump's actions were compared to American concentration camps such as Manzanar, where 11,070 U.S. citizens were imprisoned for political reasons from 1942 to 1945.^[23][24]

It was confirmed from official ICE records that U.S. citizens were directly targeted and detained by Trump immigration officials.^[1] The Cato Institute confirmed the Trump administration was committing racial profiling.^[1] The Immigration Act of 1990 makes it illegal for federal officials to even question or interrogate anyone at all within the USA about their rights to be in the nation unless they have a judicial warrant or reasonable cause to believe they are an alien.^[1] ICE has confirmed in official court records to detaining people without first validating or confirming their citizenship status.^[1] The Los Angeles Times reported multiple witnesses stated Trump prosecutor Bill Essayli was audibly screaming at members of a grand jury that refused to indict U.S. citizens against the wishes of the Trump administration.^[76] In one example, Trump immigration officials falsely stated a citizen told an immigration official he was going to 'shoot him', physically attacked the official, and initiated a multiple-person foot chase, but video evidence then revealed none of the above happened, the Times reported.^[76] The Trump administration proceeded with prosecuting the unnamed citizen regardless.^[76]

On July 11, 2025, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong found roving immigration patrols were illegal due to violating standards of reasonable suspicion of crimes and that the Trump administration was criminally denying detained United States citizens access to required legal counsel.^[77] The Guardian found most cases and proceedings filed by Trump immigration officials against U.S. citizens to be false and misleading, and many were dismissed.^[78] Many Trump immigration officials filed false and misleading official reports about citizens.^[78]

In August 2025, it was reported that minority American citizens in California had begun carrying United States passports domestically in fear of ICE contact and detainment.^[23] Legal advisors have begun warning citizens in spite of this to consider carrying documents for their own safety, due to documented and ongoing incidents of ICE detaining U.S. citizens.^[23] Naturalized citizens also began to warn each other and their communities to carry paper proof of who they are as self-defense against Republicans.^[20] One naturalized citizen said she at first dismissed her daughters' advice to carry a passport, believing their family was not at risk.^[20] She still believed that after hearing of others approached by ICE, taken, detained and deported.^[20] But when her white, native-born American husband in law enforcement urged her and their daughters to carry proof, she realized it was no longer happening somewhere else.^[20]

While a Real ID compliant form of identification is required in 2025 for domestic air travel, there is no law or legal requirement for U.S. citizens to carry proof of citizenship within the country.^[23] Historians have contrasted the ongoing crisis of detained American citizens to World War II concentration camps, including Manzanar.^[23] Northwest Asian Weekly reported naturalized citizens, including those of Chinese, Korean, and Indian American heritage now go out less often due to fear of contact by ICE agents and carry documents such as passports when they do, which is never a legal requirement in the United States for any citizen.^[20]

A natural-born citizen of Canoga Park, California, Rodrigo Almendarez, was detained by ICE agents at his place of employment in Simi Valley.^[79] The agents did not identify Almendarez themselves as ICE agents, or speak to him before handcuffing and detaining him on sight.^[79] The action against Almendarez was so aggressive that ICE agents failed to put their truck into park, leaving it in drive mode with brakes disabled.^[79] This caused the agents to have to chase their own vehicle running by foot down the street to catch it as well; the truck then rolled over, shattering a side mirror.^[79] Almendarez was ultimately released without charge after the agents were intercepted and challenged by civilians.^[79]

U.S. citizen Cary López Alvarado was arrested by ICE agents alongside two undocumented immigrants, one of which was her partner, on June 8, 2025. The DHS said that Alvarado was arrested for blocking access to a car containing the undocumented immigrants; Alvarado denied resisting, saying, "I can't fight back; I'm pregnant." Footage shows her telling agents that they needed to leave for being on private property. Other footage shows her refusing to "move away" upon an agent's request. Alvarado was released from custody not long after her arrest.^[80]

During the incident with ICE, Alvarado was "violently detained", shackled in chains across her pregnant torso, and went into labor with the baby prematurely due to the attack by Federal agents.^[81]

U.S. citizen and Trump supporter Bachir Atallah was detained by the CBP in April 2025 for immigration investigations.^[82] Atallah confirmed to the officials that he had a Redress Control Number, issued by the Department of Homeland Security confirming the specific identity of a citizen who has been repeatedly targeted by immigration officials; it was of no help.^[83] Atallah was handcuffed and separated from his wife, also a U.S. citizen, at gunpoint.^[82] The officials refused to grant Atallah access to legal counsel for over three hours.^[83] Despite repeatedly asking for access to legal representation, Atallah was initially denied this right.^[84]

Atallah reported to NBC10 Boston that he forced under medical duress to write a statement that he authorized access to his electronic devices.^[84] Despite being an attorney and citing attorney-client privilege, the officials coerced Atallah into surrendering access to his computer and email systems.^[82] Emergency medical reports from the time indicated he began to experience medical distress.^[82]

In Danbury Township, Ohio, U.S. citizen Emerson Ayala was detained by Border Patrol while working at his construction job.^[85] Ayala was inside of a construction safety harness, which a Border Patrol agent grabbed, injuring the citizen.^[85] Ayala was charged with assaulting a Federal officer.^[85]

The Mayor of Newark, New Jersey was detained by ICE. On May 9, 2025, Ras Baraka was arrested by agents outside of the Delaney Hall ICE facility. Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said Baraka was arrested because he "committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center".^[86] Baraka attempted to join a congressional delegation conducting oversight, was denied entry by a ICE official, and then Baraka exited the secure area of the facility and returned to stand on public property; however, minutes later, the agents surrounded Baraka, handcuffed him, and brought him inside the facility.^[87]

In a press conference after the arrest, Democratic House representative Rob Menendez said ICE agents "feel no restraint on what they should be doing, and that was shown in broad daylight today".^[88] Baraka had an initial court appearance, was charged with trespassing and was later released on the same day of his arrest.^[89] After release, he told waiting supporters, "The reality is this: I didn't do anything wrong."^[90]

American citizen Jose Castillo was pursued and detained by U.S. Border Patrol officers in Sacramento, California during immigration actions.^[91]

ICE and CBP detained US citizen Jose Castro on June 18, 2025, in Rochester, New York.^[92] During the arrest, recorded by tourists and onlookers, the agents refused identification from Castro and detained him regardless.^[92]

Wilmer Chavarria, the superintendent of schools for Winooski, Vermont and a US citizen, was detained by CBP officials and interrogated.^[93] Officials told Chavarria that he had no rights, disputed he was married, and challenged his employment as an educator in Vermont.^[93] Afterward, his Global Entry status to travel out of the United States was revoked with no explanation given.^[93] Chavarria is a board member of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation.^[94]

Trump supporters and U.S. citizens George and Esmeralda Doilez were detained by U.S. Border Patrol officers on August 6, 2025.^[95] They were being followed for a time by an unmarked SUV while en route to the dentist, before pulled over by officials in full concealing masks and plain clothes approached them with weapons.^[95] The Doilezes were told they were detained due to a "known alien out in the area".^[95]

The U.S. Border Patrol blamed the couple for the detainment, saying, "If you have a dentist appointment, it probably wasn't the best decision to be out in the middle of nowhere."^[95] George Doilez reported to NBC News that he thought he was going to be murdered during the encounter.^[95] Trump officials threatened to seize their vehicle and property.^[95] The family accused the Trump administration of racial profiling and violating Americans constitutional rights.^[95] Both regretted voting for Trump repeatedly, with George saying, "I feel shame, guilt and anger at the same time because of the promises that he made that he lied to us about, going after the worst of the worst. He lied on those and he stole our vote."^[95]

Isaac Dominguez, a U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE agents in Anaheim, California.^[96] The agents initially claimed Dominguez attacked them in a car wash, but then released him without charges.^[96]

Garcia, a graduate student and part time delivery worker, was swept up during an ICE raid at the Home Depot in Hollywood, Los Angeles on June 18. Garcia witnessed agents smashing another man's car window and was arrested after he began recording the incident. He was physically beaten by ICE agents, brought to Dodger Stadium alongside 30 other detaineesm and was held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles for 24 hours before being released.^[1][97] Garcia said that agents considered charging him with assaulting a federal officer but decided against it when video of the arrest became public.^[98][99]

Jason Brian Gavidia, an American citizen, was videotaped being detained in June 2025 in his hometown of Montebello, California by ICE agents who twisted his arm while asking him "What hospital were you born at?".^[100] The mayor of Montebello, Salvador Melendez, said in response to the incident: “This is racial profiling. They're stopping folks because of the way they look...ICE agents are terrorizing our community. They are taking actions and asking questions later. There is absolutely no due process.”^[100]

In August 2025, Gavidia joined a lawsuit over unconstitutional actions by the Trump administration and his ICE agents.^[101] Gavidia, a former Trump supporter and voter, accused the President of lying and "brainwashing" the United States, and that he regretted supporting Trump.^[101]

U.S. citizen Angelica Guerrero was detained by ICE agents in San Francisco, California, and was denied access to legal representation or phone call for twenty-four hours.^[102] They were detained without access to representation in the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California.^[102] Guerrero was tackled by unidentified men, not read rights, and detained outside of an ICE facility during a small protest on San Francisco municipal property.^[102] The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund stated that the agents violated "multiple laws" in the detainment of Guerrero.^[102]

Jonathan Guerrero, a citizen born in Philadelphia, was detained by ICE while working at his job.^[103] ICE agents aimed firearms at him and then handcuffed him.^[103]

In Bakersfield, California, U.S. citizen Ernesto Campos was detained by Border Patrol agents; the incident was recorded on video.^[104] During his detainement, agents flattened all the tires on his work truck with knives, arrested Campos for having a non-citizen in the truck, and then released him hours later with no charges.^[105]

U.S. citizen Jose Hermosillo, a resident of the state of New Mexico, was arrested by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBR) in Tucson, Arizona on April 8, 2025, while visiting his girlfriend's family.^{[b][109][110]} Hermosillo was falsely arrested for illegally entering the country while walking near the Border Patrol headquarters.^[110][111] Upon learning of his detention in Florence Correctional Center, a privately owned prison in Florence, Arizona, a member of Hermosillo's girlfriend's family drove to the facility with Hermosillo's Social Security card and birth certificate but was not given any information or allowed to effectuate his release.^[110]

The government claimed that Hermosillo had said that he was a Mexican citizen, said that he had entered the country illegally through Nogales, and said that he was planning to stay for 20 years to work.^[106] According to an anonymous United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official, Hermosillo then signed a statement with those facts.^[112] Hermosillo's family and girlfriend say that he has a learning disability and is illiterate.^[111] The charging document states that Hermosillo either read the document or had it read to him, but Hermosillo states that it was never read to him.^[107]

According to Hermosillo, the Border Patrol's version of events is false. He says that he had a seizure and was taken to a hospital by an ambulance without his state ID card. He says that after being released from the hospital, he got lost and went to a police officer for help. The police officer asked where he was from and he said that he was from "New Mexico". The officer, who worked for the Border Patrol, responded "Don't make me [out] like [I'm] stupid. I know you're from Mexico" and arrested him, according to Hermosillo. He says that he told prison staff that he was a US citizen several times, and was told "call your lawyer". He denies that ICE officers read him the document that he signed with his first name.^[113]

Hermosillo was detained for a total of ten days before being released April 17.^[106] In an interview after his release, Hermosillo stated that "They were saying I'm from Mexico, but I'm a U.S. citizen."^[111] Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes investigated Hermosillo's detention by immigration authorities, requesting information about the incident from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.^[106][112] "It is wholly unacceptable to wrongfully detain U.S. citizens", Mayes said in a statement.^[112]

New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was detained by ICE on June 17, 2025.^[12] Lander began accompanying defendants to immigration hearings.^[114] On June 17, 2025, Lander was arrested and handcuffed by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials at an immigration court while linking arms with a person ICE was trying to detain.^{[115][116][117]} The official reason provided for the arrest was "for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer" according to Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, although Lander was later released saying that he "certainly did not" assault an officer.^{[118][119][120]} The arrest was quickly condemned by an array of Democratic politicians from the state, including New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.^[121]

Kenny Laynez, a natural-born U.S. citizen, was detained by Florida Highway Patrol and Border Patrol agents on May 2, 2025.^[122] His detainment was recorded on video.^[122] When Laynez stated he was a citizen, born in the US, and with rights, a Border Patrol officer replied, "You don't have any rights here. You are a 'Migo.'".^[122] Laynez resisted attempts to get him to surrender his phone and the recording of the arrest, which allowed him to preserve it.^[122] Physical force was used to detain Laynez.^[122]

Officers stated a $30,000 USD bonus was at stake, but did not clarify what bonus or why.^[122]

Elzon Lemus, a Hispanic New Yorker, was stopped during his commute to his electrician job and detained in Westbury, New York by ICE officials saying they were looking for someone fitting his description.^[123] Lemus refused to provide identification to the officials until they identified themselves, which they refused to do.^[123] Lemus explained that he didn't provide the officials ID because they were not dressed as police, he had not broken any laws, and he was just riding in a passenger seat of a vehicle.^[123] Lemus was then handcuffed and detained for 20–25 minutes and released after officials found his ID on his person.^[123] Lemus's attorney has accused ICE of violating Lemus's civil rights and arguing that Americans should not have to live under this type of harassment.^[123]

Pregnant U.S. citizen Cary Lopez was detained by ICE on June 8, 2025, in Hawthorne, California.^[124] Lopez, who was seven days from her child's delivery date, experienced days of ongoing pain near the stomach after being physically moved by ICE agents.^[124]

Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, an American citizen born in the United States and residing in Georgia, was traveling from his home to Florida for a construction job along with two other people on April 16, 2025.^[125][126] Their car was pulled over for a traffic stop by the Florida Highway Patrol for allegedly speeding. Lopez-Gomez, along with the driver and an additional passenger, were arrested and each charged with allegedly entering Florida as an "unauthorized alien" under Florida law SB 4-C.^[127][128]

The government claims that Lopez-Gomez confessed that he was in the country illegally to authorities, but Lopez-Gomez disputes this claim insisting that he told the official he was an American citizen and provided a Social Security card and Georgia ID.^[129] Both Lopez-Gomez's mother and his community advocate presented Lopez-Gomez's birth certificate to Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans, who deemed the birth certificate authentic. However, the judge said that there was nothing she could do to let him out of jail at that time, despite finding no probable cause to hold Lopez-Gomez.^[127][128]

Lopez-Gomez was detained in the Leon County Jail until he was released on April 17.^{[125][130][127]} The Florida Phoenix reported that the driver was being held by ICE.^[126] Alana Greer of the Community Justice Project — a Florida immigration advocacy group — described the experience as "A series of horrors," and said that "[n]o one should have been arrested under this law, let alone a US citizen."^[131] Lopez-Gomez's attorney stated that this case is "a prime example of why everyone should care, because if it happens to Mr. Lopez-Gomez, a US-born citizen, it can happen to anyone."^[131]

Naturalized U.S. citizen Jensy Machado and two other men were stopped and detained by ICE on March 5, 2025, while they were driving to work in Manassas, Virginia. The ICE officers had their guns out and said that they were looking for someone with a different name who had a deportation order and had given Machado's address as his own. Machado explained that he was not the man they were looking for and offered to show them his Real ID driver's license, but was told to keep his hands in the air and was then handcuffed. He was only released after officials viewed his driver's license. Machado said that he had thought ICE was only going to target criminals, but is instead assuming that all Hispanic people are in the country illegally.^[132]

Virginia senator Mark Warner wrote to DHS that month, saying that if ICE detains someone who says that they have documentation showing their legal status, the officers should always allow this. He also asked the agency to answer several questions, such as whether the ICE officers identified themselves prior to pulling out their guns, and whether they had been "counseled or disciplined" for their actions.^[133]

Adrian Andrew Martinez is an American citizen born in Los Angeles, who was detained outside of his job at a Wal-Mart by ICE.^[134] Video footage showed "agents in tactical gear restraining Martinez as they wrestle him to the ground".^[134] Martinez was held incommunicado after the unidentified individuals abducted him, with officials denying any knowledge of Martinez's whereabouts.^[134] After a hearing on June 21, Martinez was released on a $5,000 bond and charged with impeding a federal investigation. His lawyers called this "a clearly trumped up charge filed to justify the federal agents' violent treatment of Adrian" and said that "Adrian did nothing wrong, and was standing up for an elderly janitorial worker when he was violently assaulted and abducted."^[135]

LaMonica McIver, a US citizen and the sitting member of the United States House of Representatives for New Jersey's 10th congressional district was detained by ICE. On May 9, 2025, McIver performed an oversight visit at an ICE detention facility in Newark, along with two other Congressmembers from New Jersey, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez. Mayor Ras Baraka, who arrived a half hour later, was invited onto the property, where he waited for the congressional delegation. He was later asked to leave, which he did, and he was then arrested for trespassing, though the charges were subsequently dropped. McIver and others attempted to protect Baraka from arrest. On May 19, 2025, interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba announced that McIver had been charged with assaulting, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement in connection with the incident.^[11] In a statement released on the same day, McIver said, of the charges, that "they mischaracterize and distort [her] actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight."^[136] On May 20, 2025, McIver stated that she rejected a plea deal from the United States Department of Justice.^[137] On June 10, McIver was indicted by federal prosecutors led by Alina Habba for her actions at the Newark immigration center.^[138] At her arraignment hearing, McIver pleaded not guilty, and Judge Jamel Semper set a trial date of November 10.^[139]

U.S. citizen Sabrina Medina's home in Huntington Park, California was raided in June 2025 by ICE agents.^[140] Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was present at the raid on Medina's home.^[140]

ICE claimed to be in pursuit of Medina's husband, who is not a U.S. citizen.^[140] At the time, Medina's husband was not present at the home.^[140] Medina's child daughter, also a U.S. citizen, was forced to flee from ICE and escaped detainment.^[140]

On August 6, 2025, ICE agents detained Medina for the second time, who is pregnant, and arrested her on a municipal level shoplifting allegation from 2013 as she left a medical clinic for a pregnancy check-up.^[141] The agents told Medina she would be released only if she turned in and surrendered her husband.^[140] Medina has no contact with her husband, and stated that the agents were using her as bait for him.^[141] The agents threatened to arrest other members of Medina's family unless she helped them detained her husband.^[141] ICE then pursued and engaged Medina a total of four times, detaining her repeatedly to gain access to her husband.^[140]

Four US citizen children in Oregon were held in detainment by ICE for several weeks.^{[142][143][144]} Kenia Merlos and her citizen children were detained while visiting Peace Arch State Park in Washington state; her husband was detained days later at their home.^[145] Merlos and family had been near the border to take Merlos's mother, lawfully visiting the US and Canada from Honduras on authorized visas, so she could enter Canada to visit another family member during her trip.^[145] The children's mother was lawfully living in the United States was eligible to be within the US as a resident through 2029 and was in the U visa application process.^[146]

The family was denied access to lawyers by ICE.^[144] After two weeks of unconstitutional delays, they were allowed access to legal representation.^[145] Attorneys filed for an emergency judicial ruling on July 13, 2025.^[145] The US citizen children were released from captivity by ICE after two weeks and given United States passports by the Federal government.^[145] United States federal judge Tana Lin ordered the US government to stand down on any actions involving the family afterward.^[145] The Trump administration on July 17 confirmed the parents were in deportation proceedings, in defiance of the court orders.^[146]

The situation was not known to the public until it was disclosed by US Representative Maxine Dexter of Oregon, who became aware of the family's detainment after being tipped off by personal contacts.^[142] The parents of the children remained in captivity.^[145]

Hugo Monteiro, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE at the Massachusetts District Court in Medford; Monteiro was detained prior to ICE agents identifying him.^[147]

U.S. citizen and native Chicagoan Julio Noriega,^[148] who has a learning disability that affects his comprehension,^[149] was out looking for work, handing out his resume at local businesses in Berwyn, Illinois, on January 31, 2025.^[150] He stopped for a slice of pizza, and was grabbed from behind by ICE, arrested without probable cause, handcuffed, and driven away in a van with other detainees. ICE took "his phone and wallet, which held his Social Security card and driver's license."^[14] The people in the van were driven around for hours and eventually taken to an ICE processing center in Broadview, Illinois,^[149] where he remained for hours, still handcuffed and without access to food, water, or a bathroom.^[14] All told, he was detained for at least ten hours^[150] without having been asked about his citizenship or otherwise questioned.^[14] He was released in the middle of the night after government officials checked his wallet and determined he was actually an American citizen.^[151] Mark Fleming, the associate director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center, said that ICE then "just sent him out to the street, even though he had no money and had no idea where he was",^[14] nor a way to get home. ICE did not give Noriega any documentation of the arrest and detention, and later denied having any record of it, including body camera or other video.^[150]

Hasan Piker, a Turkish-American online streamer, YouTuber, influencer, and left-wing political commentator born in New Jersey and a natural born citizen of the United States, was detained by ICE on May 11, 2025 at O'Hare International Airport.^[152] During his detainment, Piker was asked a number of questions related to his political views, including about Trump, Israel, Hamas, and Houthis.^[153] Piker was asked, "Do you like Donald Trump?"^[153] The BBC News compared Piker's detainment by Trump immigration officials to the detentions of Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk, who were detained by Trump officials for their political views.^[152]

Angel Pina was physically assaulted by ICE agents after they pursued him from a Stater Bros. stores in Ontario, California.^[154] Pina was detained by ICE, and ultimately sent to the hospital with a potential concussion and vomiting fits from this attack.^[154]

Heidi Plummer of Orange County, California, was arrested by ICE during a Juneteenth festival in Santa Ana.^[155] Plummer, an American citizen of Ecuadorian ancestry and attorney, was detained during a mass apprehension of people of Hispanic background.^[155] Plummers attorney stated, "They're going in and just grabbing Latinos. It's a clear violation of these individuals' constitutional rights."^[155]

On July 23, 2025, ICE agents demanded US citizen Miguel Angel Ponce Jr. provide identification, and was then immediately detained.^[156] ICE agents claimed Ponce had a "deportation order", despite him having been born in College Station, Texas.^[156]

Ponce was never provided a warrant and was instead shown a photograph of another man.^[156] ICE falsely claimed he was the other man, who was a violent child sex offender.^[156] After being released, Ponce was warned to alter his appearance by ICE, who told him, "Shave your beard off so we won't mistake you again."^[156]

Javier Ramirez, a US citizen born in San Bernardino, California, was detained by ICE on June 13, 2025 during an ICE raid at his workplace in Montebello.^[157] Ramirez was tackled and detained after informing his coworkers that ICE had arrived, and targeted by the agents in response.^[157]

Chicago resident and U.S. citizen, Kristina Ramirez was detained on May 28, 2025 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, along with her husband, who was lawfully in the U.S. on a valid visa as a Mexican citizen.^[158] While on a business trip in Michigan, Ramirez and her husband Sergio Serna Ramirez mistakenly approached the Canadian border after a wrong turn in their car.^[158] Kristina was imprisoned for three days as a U.S. citizen, and her husband through August 2025 remains imprisoned in ICE facilities despite no visa or criminal violations.^[158]

George Retes, a disabled United States military veteran and US citizen, was detained by ICE agents during a raid on a farm in California on July 10, 2025.^[9] Retes identified himself as a United States citizen and employee of the farm that was raided by ICE agents.^[10] Retes was then pepper sprayed, tear gassed, his car window smashed, and he was removed from his vehicle at gunpoint by ICE agents.^[10] ICE agents physically tackled Retes despite his American citizenship.^[1]

During his detainment, Retes was denied any phone call to notify anyone of his whereabouts, and was denied legal representation.^[10] While held captive by ICE, Retes was denied medical treatment and forced to be covered in chemical weapons residue.^[10]

Retes remained missing and his whereabouts unknown through July 12, 2025.^[9] He was released without charges on Sunday, July 13.^[30] The office of US House member Pramila Jayapal confirmed that Retes as a citizen was detained and held illegally by ICE for three days.^[22]

Barbara Stone, a 71-year old ICE observer in San Diego and US citizen, was handcuffed, injured, and detained by ICE agents for eight hours on July 8, 2025.^[159] In recorded videos, a group of masked men pursued her, detained her, and took Stone's possessions, claiming she assaulted unidentified men.^[160] ICE agents refused to return all of Stone's possessions after releasing her, keeping her cellular phone; Stone reported ICE compared her to a drug dealer.^[160]

Witnesses reported to media that ICE and immigration officials at the incident referred to themselves as "the Gestapo".

US citizen Andrea Vélez was arrested by ICE agents in Los Angeles.^[161] Vélez was detained moments after leaving a car to be dropped off at work in downtown, and forced into unmarked vehicles by masked men, who spoke to her in Spanish.^[162] Family members of Vélez were unable to locate or discover her whereabouts for several days.^[163]

Vélez was detained for a total of two days after her detained by ICE agents.^[164] Trump ICE agents did not question Vélez about any citizenship status until after she was already physically detained and "carried away".^[1] For 24 hours of her detention as a U.S. citizen over claimed immigration issues, Vélez was denied access to drinking water.^[164]

American-born citizen Leonardo Garcia Venegas was detained in a vehicle following an immigration raid in Foley, Alabama, in May 2025. He was subsequently released after giving authorities his Social Security number. Garcia's brother, who is not a U.S. citizen, was arrested during the raid. According to Garcia and his cousin, the authorities conducting the raid saw Garcia's REAL ID and called it fake before detaining him.^[165] The dismissal of Venegas's Real ID as fake was identified as racial profiling.^[1]

Hernandez Viramontes, a dual citizen of both the U.S. and Mexico, and thus immune to deportation from the USA, was detained by ICE agents for failing to carry a United States passport.^[1]

San Diego resident and US citizen "Blue" Wong was detained by ICE on July 2, 2025.^[166] Wong was detained while observing a protest targeting ICE immigration raids in Linda Vista.^[167] In a video on social media platform Instagram, Wong stands in front of ICE agents when one physically shoves her, and she is then detained.^[166] The citizen and victim's first name was not shared by the Times of San Diego.^[166] Wong was transported to a holding facility and placed in solitary confinement.^[166]

A number of detained U.S. citizens are unidenfitied or unknown by name.

A US Marshal was detained by ICE in Arizona in the summer of 2025 after officers mistakenly thought he was another person.^[13]

Border Patrol in Arleta, Los Angeles detained at gunpoint a disabled child who was a United States citizen.^[8] The detained child was described as having "significant disabilities" by Alberto M. Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District.^[168]

Trump officials claimed the U.S.-born disabled child was from El Salvador, a "MS-13 gang member with a previous gun related conviction", an adult, and that the family asked Border Patrol to detain the child.^[8] Due to the attack, Los Angeles schools activated plans to enhance all school bus services to cover any child, specifically to help protect minority American families who wanted to avoid risking their safety in public due to the presence of Trump officials.^[168]

On July 23, 2025, the Los Angeles Times reported that as of that date at least 38 citizens in the city alone had been detained and arrested by ICE, with Trump administration officials attempting to secure grand jury indictments of them for various alleged offenses.^[76]

ICE detained two U.S. citizens, whose identities were not disclosed, in San Francisco, California on August 8, 2025.^[169] ICE agents emerged from a facility where protestors stood outside, deployed chemical weapons and tasers, and then immediately tackled two citizens, pulling them inside of the building.^[169]

On June 13, 2025, a U.S. citizen was detained in the state of California on public property by the United States Marines under orders from Donald Trump.^[170] The unidentified citizen was detained by United States Armed Forces at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles, and was confirmed to Reuters by the military.^[170]

An unnamed Chicago-area citizen was detained by ICE agents in the early weeks of the second Trump administration.^[171]

Trump ICE officials raided Ocean Seafood Depot in Newark, New Jersey on January 23, 2025 and arrested several U.S. citizens, including military veterans, for claimed immigration violations.^[172] The owner of Ocean Seafood Depot confirmed the American citizens, including the military veteran, were arrested by ICE for not being able to immediately prove they were U.S. citizens with any form of papers.^[173]

Firefighters actively fighting the Bear Gulch Fire were confronted by U.S. Border Patrol in Washington state.^[6] Bear Gulch, at the time of the detentions by Trump officials, was the largest active wildfire in Washington state.^[7] Border Patrol halted firefighting work for roughly three hours to check the citizenship of crews, detained two firefighters, and then cleared the area, ordering those present to leave federal lands.^[6][7]

While clearing wood for fire containment, federal immigration agents detained at least twenty firefighters for about three hours.^[6] During that time, the firefighters were required to prove their citizenship in the forest instead of performing their duties.^[6] Agents also ordered them not to record the incident on video.^[6] Border Patrol later arrested two firefighters.^[6]

Witnesses reported that firefighters were prevented from saying goodbye to colleagues detained by Border Patrol.^[7] They also said agents swore at the remaining firefighters and ordered them to leave.^[7] Federal agents then escorted 42 people off federal lands, which the firefighters had been protecting.^[7] Washington Senator Patty Murray condemned the actions against firefighters by the Trump administration.^[7]

A family of United States citizens from Puerto Rico were detained in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin department store by ICE agents after being overheard speaking Spanish.^[174] The family members — a toddler, the child's mother, and the child's grandmother — were all born in Puerto Rico.^[174] All people born in Puerto Rico, like those born elsewhere in the United States, are automatically American citizens and lawfully allowed to freely travel anywhere within the country with immunity to immigration controls.^[175] The family was denied access to legal representation during their detention.^[174] ICE later released the family and apologized for their detention and removal attempt, but left them stranded at the detention center.^[176]

ICE and the Federal government have been accused of specifically targeting Hispanic and Latino members of society, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status.^[177] Numerous Latino and Hispanic citizens of the United States have been detained for up to ten days as of July 9, 2025.^[177]

90% of targeted individuals were confirmed to be of Latin American heritage directly from analysis of data obtained from ICE officials.^[1]

All Navajo people born within the United States are U.S. citizens due to the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 and the United States Constitution. According to the Navajo Nation, over a dozen indigenous people had been questioned, detained, or asked to provide proof of citizenship by federal law enforcement during immigration raids in January 2025.^[5] In some cases, ICE officers were not aware that Certificates of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB) are proof of citizenship, and one person was detained for nine hours.^[178] In another case, eight Native Americans were detained for two hours after their workplace was raided. Their phones were confiscated, and one Navajo woman reported that she was not able to provide proof of citizenship until her phone was returned and she was able to text family, one of whom sent a copy of the woman's CDIB.

Enough Navajos have been stopped by immigration authorities that the nation created a guide with tips about what to do if stopped, encouraging people to always carry identification and that families alert their children about what to do, including having them memorize their Social Security numbers.^[179] Other tribes have also issued tips and warnings,^[180] and Native News Online published an article, "Native Americans and Immigration Enforcement – Know Your Rights".^[181] Navajo Arizona state senator Theresa Hatathlie suggested that tribes contact DHS to share what their travel enrollment card and CDIB look like.^[179]

Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens as established by the Jones-Shafroth Act (1917), which made Puerto Rico a U.S. territory.^[175] In spite of their citizenship, ICE raids detained and arrested Puerto Ricans under the second Trump administration in multiple incidents. In one, a U.S. military veteran from Puerto Rico was detained on January 23, 2025, after an ICE raid at a seafood warehouse in Newark, New Jersey. The veteran worked there as a warehouse manager. The co-owner of the business said that ICE appeared to be targeting people who look Hispanic,^[5] while ignoring his white employees.^[182]

In another notable incident, three members of a Puerto Rican family were taken to a detention center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on January 27, 2025, after an immigration officer heard one of them speaking Spanish. They were released prior to processing when they provided documentation. The detentions led to a significant upswing in passport requests from Puerto Ricans to provide documentation to satisfy immigration officers.^[183]

In response to early reports of American citizens being detained, two Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, Jamie Raskin (the ranking member on the committee) and Pramila Jayapal (the ranking member on the immigration subcommittee), wrote Kristi Noem, the DHS secretary, and Caleb Vitello, the acting director of ICE enforcement, asking them to provide information about citizen detention. The February letter noted that ICE does not have authority to detain citizens, and stressed the importance of keeping "the escalating government assault on immigrants from becoming a steamroller that crushes the rights of American citizens".^[184]

Democratic Party US House member Pramila Jayapal on July 16, 2025 introduced to Congress the "Stop ICE from Kidnapping US Citizens Act", which would bar ICE from detaining or deporting U.S. citizens.^[22] The bill would also apply penalties to ICE for illegal detainment of American citizens, but was seen as unlikely to become law under a Republican-controlled Congress and with Donald Trump as President.^[21]

Democratic House member Ted Lieu stated it was "batshit crazy" that laws needed to be introduced to prevent ICE from deporting U.S. citizens.^[21]

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared her state "will not back down" and called the arrest of American citizens for immigration reasons "bullshit."^[121]

United States conservatives and Republican Party members have given conflicting and contradictory statements on U.S. citizens being detained or facing deportation from ICE and the Trump Presidency, both endorsing the practice, confirming it occurs, and denying it occurs. Tricia McLaughlin of the Department of Homeland Security claimed reports of citizens being arrested were false and used to "demonize ICE agents", denying any detainments of U.S. citizens has happened.^[21] Meanwhile, Trump border czar Tom Homan confirmed citizens are being detained and arrested by ICE.^[2]

In May 2025, Republicans blocked bills from becoming law that would have stopped ICE from detaining or deporting U.S. citizens.^[21]

Republican House member Troy Nehls accused media and the public of overstating the crisis of citizens being detained by ICE.^[22] Nehls stated American citizens should carry documentation to prove citizenship, saying "Well, maybe people can't prove that they're American citizens, either, have the documentation."^[22]

Republican House member Ralph Norman stated he was not concerned with the matter of American citizens being detained by ICE and disputed to journalists that it has happened.^[22]

Republican Senator and Tommy Tuberville stated that U.S. citizens detained by ICE were at fault, saying mistakes "gone happen", and that citizens being arrested was a consequence of associating with non-citizens.^[22] Tuberville further stated "Don't hang around illegals," but was reported to have no statement in regard to mixed-status families and households, where some family members are U.S. citizens and some are not.^[22]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), among other cases, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in Los Angeles over the matter of U.S. citizens being detained and assaulted by ICE agents.^[1] Among the court findings that were noted included:^[1]

Jason Brian Gavidia is a U.S. citizen who was born and raised in East Los Angeles and identifies as Latino. On the afternoon of June 12, he stepped onto the sidewalk outside of a tow yard in Montebello, California, where he saw agents carrying handguns and military-style rifles. One agent ordered him to "Stop right there" while another "ran towards [him]." The agents repeatedly asked Gavidia whether he is American—and they repeatedly ignored his answer: "I am an American." The agents asked Gavidia what hospital he was born in—and he explained that he did not know which hospital. "The agents forcefully pushed [Gavidia] up against the metal gated fence, put [his] hands behind [his] back, and twisted [his] arm." An agent asked again, "What hospital were you born in?"

The appeals court upheld a ban on these tactics in that lawsuit.^[1]

The right-wing conservative Cato Institute was critical of Trump's immigration regime, calling it illegal profiling, damaging, and harmful to American interests.^[1]