Are there documented cases of ICE deporting or attempting to deport US citizens?
Executive summary
Government audits and multiple news analyses document instances where U.S. citizens were wrongly identified, arrested, detained or even removed in immigration enforcement actions; a 2025 GAO-based count cited “as many as 70” U.S. citizens deported between 2015–2020 and other investigations show thousands flagged as possible citizens for removal [1]. ICE and DHS publicly insist the agency does not deport citizens and say most cited incidents were errors or mischaracterizations [2] [3].
1. The headline conflict: government reports vs. DHS denials
A Government Accountability Office–informed number — widely cited by advocates and the American Immigration Council — concluded that up to 70 people who were U.S. citizens were deported from 2015–2020 and that ICE/CBP systems repeatedly misidentified citizens for removal, with thousands flagged as potentially removable in earlier analyses [1]. The Department of Homeland Security and ICE counter that “ICE does NOT arrest or deport U.S. citizens” and say their enforcement is targeted and includes checks to prevent wrongful citizen removals; DHS issued a public debunking of reporting that it called false [2] [3].
2. What the data and watchdogs actually show
Analysts and watchdogs have documented systemic problems: the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse found at least 2,840 people identified as potentially removable U.S. citizens between 2002 and 2017, and at least 214 of those were taken into custody for periods of time; the GAO’s later analysis found about 70 apparent citizen deportations in a narrower window [1]. Media projects and FOIA-driven datasets (Deportation Data Project, ICE data releases) provide case-level records of arrests, detentions and removals that researchers have mined to identify wrongful actions [4] [5].
3. Named cases and local reporting: examples that shaped the debate
Reporting and advocacy accounts list individual stories — including U.S.-born people detained during raids or routine check‑ins, a disabled U.S. veteran held in California, and two small U.S. citizen children reportedly removed with a parent — which have driven congressional attention and proposed legislation [6] [7] [8]. Some Wikipedia-based aggregations and local press accounts describe cases where citizens were detained or allegedly sent abroad, though those pages compile many sources and are not themselves primary evidence [7] [9].
4. Scale and context: enforcement surged, making errors more consequential
ICE arrest and deportation activity rose sharply in 2025, with independent trackers and news analyses showing far higher arrest volumes and more operations in interior U.S. communities; researchers say increased volume raises the odds of misidentification and wrongful custody [10] [11] [12]. The Migration Policy Institute and major outlets report hundreds of thousands of arrests and deportation actions in FY 2025, and ICE’s own dashboards show expanded internal dashboards for arrests/detentions—data that researchers use to search for mistakes [3] [12].
5. Policy and political responses: legislation and accountability demands
Members of Congress introduced bills to explicitly bar ICE from detaining or deporting U.S. citizens after localized reports of wrongful arrests and removals; advocates cite GAO findings and case histories to press for system fixes, better data sharing, and accountability for officers who act outside authority [6] [1]. DHS and ICE stress training and internal safeguards but critics argue record-keeping and cross‑agency systems remain inadequate [2] [1].
6. Where the evidence is strong — and where it’s thin
Available reporting and government audits establish: (a) systemic misidentification of people as non‑citizens has occurred and has led to wrongful arrests and detentions [1]; (b) watchdog datasets and journalism have identified dozens of problematic cases and hundreds of thousands of enforcement actions to mine [4] [5]. What available sources do not mention consistently is a comprehensive, official tally from ICE or DHS that reconciles every alleged citizen deportation with case files and outcomes; DHS’s public statements dispute some media characterizations and describe many incidents as errors quickly corrected [2] [3].
7. How to read competing claims — and why both matter
ICE/DHS denials and promises of safeguards matter because they shape public trust and legal responsibility for agents [2]. Independent watchdogs, GAO analyses and journalistic databases matter because they expose patterns and concrete cases that suggest agency systems and training fail some people, often people of color, at meaningful scale [1] [5]. Both perspectives are necessary: accountability requires rigorous case audits and transparent data from the agencies themselves.
8. Bottom line and what to watch next
Multiple reputable sources document wrongful identification, detention and a limited number of deportations of people who were later shown to be U.S. citizens [1] [4]. DHS/ICE dispute some reporting and emphasize internal safeguards [2] [3]. Future clarity depends on agency-produced reconciled records, the outcome of pending litigation and congressional oversight prompted by GAO and media investigations [1] [6].