U.S. immigration agents detained 506 U.S. citizens between January 2025 and September 2026, holding at least 36 incommunicado for a full day or longer without access to lawyers or family contact.
Some citizens were subsequently deported despite proving their citizenship, while families and attorneys were denied contact. The actual scope is likely larger, since the federal government does not officially track how many citizens are held or deported by immigration agents. Known cases, including the detention and deportation of three U.S. citizen children ages 2, 4, and 7, show a clear pattern of citizens being held without legal access and then expelled.
Table of Contents
- How Many U.S. Citizens Were Detained and Deported?
- What Happened to Documented Cases of Citizens
- Why These Detentions Violate ICE's Own Written Rules
- Emergency Court Orders Requiring Access to Lawyers and Phones
- Government Disputes the Facts of These Cases
How Many U.S. Citizens Were Detained and Deported?
In October 2026, ProPublica documented 506 U.S. citizens detained by immigration agents between January 2025 and September 2026, with at least 36 held for a full day or longer without legal counsel or family contact. The count is almost certainly incomplete.
The federal government does not officially track how many citizens are detained or deported by immigration agents, so these cases likely represent only a fraction of what actually occurred. Roughly a dozen detained citizens were actually deported from the country. Most were children or young adults.
What Happened to Documented Cases of Citizens
In April 2025, the ACLU reported that ICE deported three U.S. citizen children—ages 2, 4, and 7—after holding their families incommunicado and refusing repeated contact attempts by attorneys and family members over multiple days. One mother was permitted only about 30 seconds of phone contact before agents terminated the call when her spouse tried to provide her lawyer's phone number.
This prevented her from obtaining legal counsel before her child was removed. Two other cases from ProPublica's investigation show the same pattern. A dual U.S.-Mexico citizen was held four days in a California immigration facility without any lawyer or family contact, then deported to Mexico. He was only allowed back after suing and presenting his birth certificate. In Texas, another U.S. citizen was held four days and deported because ICE officers refused to accept his citizenship claim and wouldn't let him retrieve his birth certificate to prove it.
Why These Detentions Violate ICE's Own Written Rules
Immigration law and ICE's internal guidance explicitly prohibit what these detentions accomplished. ICE's legal authority states: "As a matter of law, ICE cannot assert its civil immigration enforcement authority to arrest and/or detain a U.S. citizen," according to internal guidance cited by Rep. Pramila Jayapal. Yet ProPublica found roughly a dozen citizens were deported, most of them children.
Additionally, ICE's directives require coordinating care for minor children with willing caretakers and family. The agency failed to do so in documented cases, according to the ACLU.
Emergency Court Orders Requiring Access to Lawyers and Phones
In 2025, the ACLU of Southern California and Oregon won emergency court orders requiring ICE to guarantee detainees access to lawyers and telephone contact. This followed reports that hundreds were held incommunicado at detention facilities in Victorville, California and Sheridan, Oregon. These court orders represent a practical remedy that forced the agency to change its practices at those specific facilities, ensuring detainees could contact the outside world.
Government Disputes the Facts of These Cases
DHS has disputed specific cases documented by ProPublica and advocacy organizations. The agency has argued that some individuals admitted to being born outside the U.S. or consented to their children's removal. According to ProPublica, the government's account of these detentions often conflicts with accounts by advocacy organizations and detainees' families. These disagreements mean that documentation of citizenship—birth certificates, passports, and other official records—becomes critical when ICE claims someone is not a U.S. citizen.