How often has ICE mistakenly detained or attempted to deport U.S. citizens since 2010?
Executive summary
Since 2010, documented instances show that ICE and related DHS components have mistakenly stopped, detained, and in some cases attempted or effected the removal of U.S. citizens, but there is no single, authoritative tally: investigative reporting and advocacy groups document at least dozens to more than a hundred wrongful detentions, some reporting "over 170" cases and separate analyses suggesting as many as 70 erroneous deportations in recent years, while DHS disputes that it deports citizens and says such claims are false [1] [2] [3].
1. The documented baseline: independent counts and reporting
Investigative outlets and legal advocates have compiled concrete case lists: ProPublica’s work is cited as finding "over 170" U.S. citizens detained by ICE [1], and law firms and commentators point to studies and compilations of "hundreds" of wrongful detentions spanning earlier decades into 2019 [4], establishing a baseline that wrongful detention of citizens is a measurable — if not exhaustively tallied — phenomenon.
2. Deportations versus detentions: different claims, different magnitudes
Attempts to quantify mistaken deportations yield smaller but alarming figures: an American Immigration Council analysis reported that ICE may have deported as many as 70 U.S. citizens in the prior five-year window (a later-coverage claim summarized in that advocacy piece) — a separate metric from detentions and one that, if accurate, indicates wrongful removal has occurred repeatedly [2]; however, the density of evidence for deportation (removals) is thinner and contested relative to detention claims [1] [2].
3. Government response and limits in official accounting
DHS and ICE have pushed back forcefully against some reporting, issuing statements that "ICE does NOT arrest or deport U.S. citizens" and calling certain media claims false, while insisting arrests of citizens occur only for alleged criminal obstructive conduct [3]; concurrently, Congressional inquiries and subcommittee reports have pressed DHS precisely because internal tracking and transparency appear inconsistent, with oversight documents emphasizing citizens’ cases as a focus of investigation [5].
4. Patterns, consequences and notable cases that shaped the narrative
Reporting and hearings emphasize recurring patterns — mistaken identity, faulty databases, and enforcement sweeps that ensnare family members — producing high-profile accounts of citizens detained for days or weeks, denied access to medication or counsel, and in some instances physically mistreated, which spurred senators and representatives to demand investigations [6] [5] [7]; these case studies are the evidence most often cited to substantiate broader numerical claims [1] [2].
5. Why a definitive number since 2010 remains elusive
Establishing an exact count since 2010 is hindered by divergent sources, incomplete official disclosure, inconsistent data collection by ICE, and disputes over what counts as an "attempted deportation" versus a detention or a mistaken stop — independent tallies point to at least dozens and likely more than a hundred wrongful detentions (ProPublica’s "over 170" figure is frequently cited) and advocacy reporting suggests up to dozens of erroneous removals, but DHS refusals to confirm such a count and variability in methodology mean the precise frequency cannot be authoritatively stated from available sources [1] [2] [3] [8].
Conclusion: a clear problem, an uncertain total
The evidence assembled by journalists, advocacy groups, and congressional investigators demonstrates a recurring problem of U.S. citizens being mistakenly detained and, in some reported instances, deported by immigration authorities since 2010, with conservative lower-bound counts in the dozens and independent compilations exceeding a hundred, while official denials and gaps in public data prevent a single, uncontestable tally [1] [2] [5] [3].