Which documented cases between 2010 and 2025 involved ICE detaining lawful permanent residents or naturalized citizens, and what were their outcomes?
Executive summary
Between 2010 and 2025 reporting shows two distinct patterns: lawful permanent residents (LPRs) with criminal records who were detained by ICE and in some cases died in custody, and instances where naturalized or U.S. citizens were stopped or briefly detained—sometimes in error—with outcomes ranging from release after legal intervention to litigation and public outcry [1] [2] [3].
1. LPRs detained and sometimes dying in ICE custody: named cases and outcomes
Multiple journalistic investigations documented LPRs who were detained by ICE and later died while in detention during the period, with The Guardian identifying specific individuals including Kai Yin Wong (permanent resident since 1970, convicted in 2010), Johnny Noviello (LPR since 1991), Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh (LPR since the mid-1990s), and Pete Sumalo Montejo (LPR since 1962); those reports record that these men died in custody and that families have questioned ICE’s official causes or handling of their cases [1].
2. LPRs detained pursuant to criminal convictions or immigration violations — what data show
Federal and independent datasets compiled and published by ICE, Vera, and the Deportation Data Project show ICE routinely categorizes detained individuals by citizenship and criminality and that many LPRs fall into the “convicted” or “pending charges” categories used to justify detention and removal proceedings, though these data do not list every individual case by name [4] [5] [6].
3. Naturalized citizens and U.S. citizens detained or stopped — documented incidents and legal outcomes
Reporting and compilations of incidents indicate that naturalized citizens and even U.S.-born citizens have been stopped and in some cases detained by immigration authorities; Wikipedia’s chronology and congressional materials cite episodes in 2025 where naturalized citizens such as Jensy Machado and others were detained, prompting legal advocacy and public alarm, and congressional subcommittee reports recount high-profile citizen stops that led to litigation or official scrutiny [3] [7].
4. Mistaken detentions, legal recourse, and the practical reality on the ground
Legal guides and advocacy reporting explain that mistakes in databases or identity verification can result in wrongful detention of citizens and that prompt legal intervention is often necessary to secure release or correct records; however, those same sources emphasize that ICE lawfully detains LPRs for specified immigration violations, meaning the distinction between lawful and erroneous detention depends on case facts and documentation [2] [4].
5. Systemic context, competing narratives, and limits of available reporting
Large-scale datasets and watchdog analyses show an uptick in detentions and an expansion of facilities through 2025, creating more occasions where LPRs and mistakenly-identified citizens interact with ICE; advocacy groups frame this as mass detention and increased harm, while official ICE dashboards describe enforcement priorities and legal authorities—both perspectives are supported by the data but the sources do not together provide a definitive, exhaustive list of every named case of LPRs or naturalized citizens detained between 2010–2025, so conclusions here are limited to documented examples and aggregated data [4] [8] [5].
6. What outcomes recur and what remains uncertain
Across documented episodes the recurring outcomes are: LPRs subjected to removal proceedings and, in some documented cases, dying in custody with families disputing official accounts [1]; citizens or naturalized persons sometimes released after producing documentation or through legal challenge, and sometimes left to pursue litigation or public advocacy to correct records—yet the reporting does not allow a full accounting of how many individual wrongful detentions led to relief, damages, or policy change during 2010–2025 [2] [3].