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Fact check: Have legal immigrants been deported by ice
Executive Summary
Legal permanent residents, green card applicants, and in some documented cases U.S. citizens have been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in recent months, with news reports documenting arrests of long-time residents, green card applicants, and people later identified as citizens; these cases have generated legal challenges and public outcry. Reporting from September 2025 shows multiple incidents—including the detention of green card applicant Domingo Salas Mota and the arrest of long-time resident Narciso Barranco—that highlight enforcement actions that critics say swept up legal immigrants and even citizens, prompting lawsuits and calls for process reforms [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. Shocking Cases Put ICE Detentions in the Spotlight
News organizations detailed individual stories that illustrate how ICE operations affected people with legal claims to remain in the U.S., including a green card applicant detained in Florida and a California resident with decades of presence arrested despite deep family ties. Domingo Salas Mota’s detention and Narciso Barranco’s arrest were reported in late September 2025, and both stories emphasize that ICE actions did not only target undocumented newcomers but also impacted those with pending or established legal status, generating questions about targeting, verification processes, and the agency’s use of authority [1] [2].
2. Citizens Caught in the Sweep: Lawsuits and Allegations
Reporting shows at least one U.S. citizen, Leonardo Garcia Venegas, pursued legal action after being arrested twice by immigration officials despite presenting proof of citizenship, alleging wrongful detention in DHS sweeps; the lawsuit was filed in late September 2025. This lawsuit frames a consequential legal assertion: that enforcement operations have sometimes failed to correctly verify status before detention, leading to litigation and heightened scrutiny of ICE procedures. Coverage of citizens detained during enforcement underscores the risk of misidentification and the downstream consequences for due process and civil liberties [4] [3].
3. Long-Time Residents With Family Ties Still Vulnerable
The narrative of Narciso Barranco, who has lived in the U.S. more than 30 years and has U.S.-born children who served in the Marines and an American spouse, spotlights how long-term residency and family relationships do not always shield individuals from deportation proceedings. Reports from mid- to late-September 2025 describe community outrage and legal fights aimed at preventing his removal, illustrating that enforcement decisions can intersect awkwardly with humanitarian and familial considerations, producing both legal battles and public advocacy campaigns [2].
4. Patterns: Claims of Racial Profiling and Due Process Concerns
Multiple accounts share themes: detainees and advocates allege racial profiling, rushed verification, and insufficient legal protections during sudden enforcement actions, while stories of detained U.S. citizens amplify concerns about procedural failures. These patterns have prompted civil-rights groups and affected families to call for oversight, highlighting a divide between ICE’s stated enforcement priorities and the lived experiences of those detained. Reported incidents from September 2025 therefore feed broader debates about ICE practices, accountability, and the safeguards necessary to prevent wrongful detentions [1] [3].
5. Agency Response and Legal Context Remain Central But Under-Reported
News pieces focus on individual human stories and legal pushback, but coverage less frequently presents full ICE administrative rationales or detailed outcomes for each case, leaving gaps about prosecutorial discretion, detainer use, and case adjudication timelines. The September 2025 reporting documents arrests and lawsuits but often stops short of comprehensive follow-ups on final case dispositions, emphasizing immediacy over long-term legal resolutions and underscoring the need to track administrative responses and court rulings to fully assess whether these incidents represent systemic error or isolated enforcement choices [1] [4].
6. Legal Challenges and Public Reaction Could Shape Policy Oversight
The emergence of lawsuits and high-profile family stories in September 2025 has already spurred local advocacy and legal interventions aimed at stays or relief from removal proceedings, which may influence oversight, congressional attention, and agency guidance on verifying status during sweeps. Media narratives highlighting detained citizens and legal permanent residents press policymakers and courts to clarify safeguards; the interplay between litigation, public pressure, and subsequent agency conduct will determine whether these incidents prompt meaningful reforms or remain episodic controversies [4] [2].
7. What the Reporting Collectively Shows—and What It Omits
Collectively, the September 2025 coverage documents several instances where ICE detained people who had claims to legal status, including green card applicants and long-term residents, and includes at least one citizen’s lawsuit alleging wrongful arrest; the reporting highlights procedural vulnerabilities but leaves unanswered questions about scale, ICE intent, and final legal outcomes. To evaluate whether these are systemic deportations of legal immigrants or troubling but limited errors, follow-up reporting and court records, beyond the immediate narratives, are necessary to measure frequency, outcomes, and any official reforms implemented in response [1] [2] [3] [4].