Fact check: How many U.S. citizens have been wrongfully detained by ICE in recent years?

1. Summary of the results

While exact numbers of wrongfully detained U.S. citizens are not directly provided in the sources, there is clear evidence of systemic issues with ICE detention practices. Studies show that U.S. citizens who are wrongfully detained spend an average of 180 days in detention ^[1]. Specific documented cases include José Hermosillo, who was detained for 10 days, and a Puerto Rican military veteran ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial contextual elements need to be considered:

• The overall ICE detention system has expanded significantly, from 14,195 adults at the end of the Trump administration to 39,703 adults as of January 2025 ^[3]
• 86% of detainees are held in facilities run by for-profit entities ^[3], suggesting potential financial motivations in the detention system
• While ICE maintains official documentation of their operations, they do not publicly track or report statistics on wrongful detentions of U.S. citizens ^[4]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question itself may be misleading in several ways:

• It assumes that comprehensive data on wrongful detentions exists, when in fact ICE does not publicly track these numbers ^[4]
• It focuses solely on "recent years" while evidence suggests this has been a long-standing systemic issue ^[1]

Who benefits from different narratives:

• Private detention facilities benefit from higher detention numbers, as they operate 86% of facilities ^[3]
• ICE and government agencies benefit from downplaying wrongful detention incidents, as evidenced by their lack of public reporting on these cases ^[4]
• Civil rights organizations benefit from highlighting these cases to push for systemic reforms, as demonstrated by their documentation of specific cases ^[2]