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What is the longest recorded ICE detention of a US citizen before release or charge?
Executive summary
Available reporting shows multiple U.S. citizens have been detained by ICE in 2025, sometimes for days; ProPublica’s compilation (republished by OPB, NPR and others) documents at least 170 citizen detentions and individual cases where people were held “for days” — for example, George Retes says he was held three days [1] [2]. Federal agencies dispute some reporting; DHS’s public statement asserts ICE “does not arrest or detain U.S. citizens” and disputes specific reports [3].
1. What the investigative tallies say — a growing list of citizen detentions
ProPublica’s review, cited and summarized by outlets including OPB and Common Dreams, found more than 170 U.S. citizens were held by immigration agents in 2025; the project focused on cases where agents “held citizens against their will” during raids or protests and identified many instances in which no charges were ultimately filed [4] [1] [5]. That investigative count is the principal source journalists reference when describing the scale of citizen detentions this year [4].
2. Examples that reporters highlight — “disappeared into the system for days”
Reporting provides concrete examples of multi-day holds: OPB’s version of the ProPublica piece recounts George Retes, a U.S. citizen and veteran, who said he was taken during a raid and “disappeared into the system for days,” while NPR quotes Retes saying he was held for three days [1] [2]. ProPublica’s compilation also documents other citizens who were detained long enough to arouse concern about access to counsel, family contact, and verification of status [4] [1].
3. What federal sources say in response — an explicit denial and counterclaims
The Department of Homeland Security has publicly pushed back, issuing a page titled “DHS Debunks New York Times False Reporting: DHS Does NOT Deport U.S. Citizens,” asserting ICE “does not arrest or detain U.S. citizens” and disputing specific cases cited in media coverage; the DHS statement also claims detainees have access to meals, medical care and communications [3]. This is a direct institutional rebuttal to investigative accounts and demonstrates an official alternative narrative [3].
4. Measuring “longest recorded” — limits of the available sources
Available sources document that citizens have been held “for days” and give at least one named example of a three-day detention [2]. However, none of the provided documents contains a definitive, nationwide list ranking the single longest detention of a U.S. citizen before release or charging. ProPublica compiled many cases but the pieces and summaries cited here do not state which detention was the absolute longest in duration [4] [1]. Therefore, a precise answer naming the single longest recorded detention is not found in the current reporting [4] [1] [2].
5. Broader context — detention volume and system pressures
Independent research organizations and ICE statistics show ICE detention counts and system strain have grown in 2025: ICE reported dashboards of arrests and detentions, and Vera Institute and TrAC note overall detention populations in the tens of thousands in mid‑2025, with Vera reporting 61,226 detained on a snapshot date and TrAC noting roughly 59,762 in detention as of September 2025 [6] [7] [8]. Journalists and advocates say backlogs and reliance on holding rooms have increased the time people spend in custody, a factor that could lengthen incidental or mistaken detentions of citizens [9] [7].
6. Competing interpretations — investigative press vs. agency defense
Investigative outlets (ProPublica, OPB, NPR summaries) frame the issue as evidence of systemic failures — including mistaken biometric flags, rushed operations, and lack of tracking of citizen detentions [4] [1] [2]. DHS frames media accounts as inaccurate and emphasizes training and protections, calling some reports “false” and asserting that when citizens are detained it is for criminal conduct [3]. Both narratives are present in the public record; readers should weigh ProPublica’s case-level documentation against DHS’s categorical denial [4] [3].
7. What’s missing and what to watch for next
Current reporting documents many cases and some multi-day detentions but does not provide a definitive, sourced record identifying the single longest detention of a U.S. citizen before release or charge — that precise data point is not found in the provided sources [4] [1] [2]. Future reporting or official disclosures (e.g., ICE case-level custody histories, court findings, or ProPublica follow-ups) would be needed to establish and verify the longest individual detention reliably [4] [6].
Bottom line: journalists cite multiple instances of U.S. citizens held by immigration agents for days (one documented example: three days for George Retes), and an investigative tally lists 170+ citizen detentions in 2025, but a single authoritative record naming the longest detention is not present in the current reporting [4] [1] [2] [6].