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Which high-profile cases involved ICE deporting or attempting to deport US citizens?
Executive summary
Reporting and watchdog analyses document that U.S. immigration agents have arrested, detained and in some confirmed cases deported people who later were found to be U.S. citizens or to have plausible citizenship claims; ProPublica and other outlets have tallied "more than 170" citizens detained in 2025 and the Government Accountability Office and others identified up to 70 citizens deported between 2015–2020 (or as many as ~70 in that period), while ICE and DHS push back that they do not deport citizens and dispute some specific headlines [1] [2] [3].
1. High-profile names and cases: what the reporting lists
Multiple outlets have named individual cases that became high-profile: ProPublica and The Guardian reported on people such as Chanthila Souvannarath (detained and claimed to have a citizenship claim, with attorneys saying he was deported in violation of a court order), Leonardo Garcia Venegas (detained despite showing ID), Miguel Angel Ponce Jr. (detained despite Texas birthplace claims), and other U.S. citizens or people asserting citizenship who were swept up during 2025 enforcement actions [4] [5] [1]. Reporting also highlights a father from Alabama alleged to have been deported to Laos despite a district judge ordering his stay while his citizenship claim was resolved [4].
2. How many U.S. citizens have been detained or deported — disputed tallies
Investigations and databases document hundreds of encounters where people identified as U.S. citizens were held, with ProPublica’s tracking and other outlets reporting "more than 170" U.S. citizens detained in 2025 and analyses saying that as many as 70 U.S. citizens were deported between 2015 and 2020 per a GAO-derived figure cited by the American Immigration Council [1] [2]. Other projects that analyze ICE’s own data note inconsistent record-keeping that makes precise counts difficult [6].
3. What ICE and DHS say in response
DHS and ICE have issued categorical denials of claims that the agencies intentionally deport U.S. citizens—DHS released statements asserting “ICE does NOT arrest or deport U.S. citizens” and pushed back against specific reports it characterized as false [3] [7]. The department also disputed litigation and media narratives in some high-profile instances, arguing that circumstances (for example, a parent choosing to take a U.S.-citizen child when removed) explained disputed claims [7] [8].
4. Patterns that reporters and advocates highlight
Journalists and advocates say the problem is not isolated: they point to large-scale sweeps and policy shifts in 2025 that increased arrests nationwide, leading to more encounters where citizenship was not adequately verified before detention, and to profiling concerns affecting people of color and Indigenous communities [9] [10] [1]. The Atlantic and others described aggressive tactics—raids, stun grenades, and broad targeting—that raised civil-rights alarms after instances where citizens were among those handcuffed [11].
5. Legal and oversight responses — Congress, courts, advocacy
Members of Congress and civil-rights groups demanded investigations and legislative fixes; Representative Pramila Jayapal introduced bills to bar ICE from detaining or deporting citizens, and lawmakers including Rep. Goldman and Sen. Warren urged DHS oversight into patterns of wrongful detentions [12] [13]. Courts have intervened in individual cases—issuing stays or finding administrative errors in some deportations—and plaintiffs’ litigation has both been filed and, in some instances, dropped or disputed by DHS [4] [7].
6. Limits of available reporting and competing claims
The record is uneven: watchdogs and newsrooms document many troubling instances (ProPublica, OPB, NPR), while DHS and ICE deny intentional deportations of citizens and assert that some celebrated examples were misunderstandings or misreported [1] [3] [7]. Independent compilations stress that ICE’s data systems and inconsistent training make definitive nationwide accounting difficult, so exact totals remain contested [6] [2].
7. What to watch next — accountability and data fixes
Key developments to monitor are GAO or inspector-general probes, litigation outcomes in named deportation cases (for example the Alabama-to-Laos case), congressional hearings prompted by lawmakers’ letters, and whether ICE follows recommendations to upgrade tracking of citizenship status—actions that would either corroborate journalists’ tallies or substantiate DHS assertions that such deportations are exceptional or erroneous [2] [13] [4].
Limitations: available sources show disagreement between investigative reporting and DHS/ICE statements; precise, authoritative national counts are not available in current reporting because of data gaps in ICE systems [6] [3].