Fact check: How many cases of mistaken deportation of US citizens have been reported since 2020?

1. What the evidence actually records — scattered, case-by-case findings that resist a single number

Media and legal reporting present individual case studies rather than a comprehensive dataset on mistaken deportations of US citizens. Recent articles focus on specific incidents: Miguel Silvestre, a US-born man, was marked for deportation again in 2025, triggering reporting and legal scrutiny ^[1]. Coverage also includes accounts of US citizens detained or put into proceedings, such as Cary Lopez Alvarado and seven other Americans who filed claims alleging wrongful detention; those reports document harmful enforcement practices but do not equate to documented mistaken removals ^[2]. No source in the provided set offers an authoritative, system-wide count since 2020.

2. High-profile examples that shape public perception — why each matters

Individual cases drive public concern because they illustrate systemic failure points. Miguel Silvestre’s 2025 placement back into deportation proceedings despite being US-born highlights document verification and record-matching errors ^[1]. Sok Loeun’s history — mistakenly placed in proceedings in 2015 and self-deported, then returning in 2020 — demonstrates how historical mistakes can echo into later years, complicating any attempt to ascribe a single-year incidence ^[3]. Peter Sean Brown’s 2018 court case shows earlier precedents for erroneous detainers and misclassification ^[4]. Together, these cases illuminate recurring mechanisms that produce wrongful deportation or detention.

3. Distinguishing wrongful deportation from wrongful detention or proceedings

Reporting repeatedly distinguishes between actual removal (deportation), mistaken initiation of removal proceedings, and wrongful detention. The sources include instances of initiation of deportation proceedings ^{[1] [3]} and multiple reports of Americans detained during enforcement actions who later alleged wrongful treatment ^[2]. These are substantively different outcomes: a detained citizen may be released without removal, while a deported citizen has been physically removed from the United States. The provided sources document both phenomena but do not compile which led to confirmed removals since 2020.

4. What official sources and watchdogs do — gap between anecdote and aggregate data

News coverage and legal filings spotlight individual injustices, but neither the provided reporting nor the cited critiques of ICE offer a verified aggregate count. Investigative pieces criticize ICE for data practices and for shifting enforcement priorities, yet they stop short of producing a comprehensive tally of mistaken citizenship removals since 2020 ^{[5] [6]}. Oversight gaps and classification problems in federal records mean reliable system-wide statistics are not presented in the supplied materials, making any precise numeric claim unsupported by these sources.

5. Multiple viewpoints in the record — enforcement, oversight, and affected families

The narrative splits into enforcement agencies defending operations, watchdogs and journalists pointing to errors, and families and litigants describing human impact. Coverage of individual cases frames mistakes as both administrative failures and legal due-process issues ^{[1] [4]}. Reporting on detained Americans paints a picture of aggressive enforcement affecting U.S. citizens and lawful residents, while critiques of ICE data practices suggest institutional incentives that may undercount or obscure wrongful outcomes ^{[5] [2]}. Each angle explains why precise counting is contested and difficult.

6. What can be asserted with confidence from the available reporting

From the provided sources, one can state confidently that at least one US-born person was marked for deportation after 2020 (Miguel Silvestre in 2025) and that multiple Americans have reported wrongful detention or initiation of proceedings in the 2020–2025 period ^{[1] [2]}. Other cited cases involve earlier errors that resurfaced or whose effects extended into 2020 (Sok Loeun returned in 2020 after earlier self-deportation) ^[3]. No source in the set documents a verified, comprehensive count of mistaken deportations that began in 2020 and continued through the present.

7. Missing data and what would be needed for a definitive answer

A definitive count would require access to ICE and DHS case-level records, cross-checked with birth and citizenship records, plus independent oversight verification; none of the provided sources include such a dataset. Reliable aggregation would also need consistent definitions — distinguishing “wrongful detention,” “mistaken placement into proceedings,” and “confirmed deportation of a US citizen” — and timeline filters beginning in 2020. Given the absence of that evidence in the supplied reports, any numeric claim beyond the documented examples would be speculative.

8. Bottom line for readers seeking a number: caution and next steps

Reporters and researchers must treat current journalistic accounts as illustrative but incomplete. The supplied reporting reveals concrete, serious incidents of mistaken classification and detention, including a 2025 case of a US-born man marked for deportation ^[1] and multiple claims of wrongful detention ^[2], yet does not produce an authoritative count of mistaken deportations since 2020. To obtain a defensible number, request DHS/ICE case-level disclosure, seek court filings tracking citizenship claims, or rely on formal oversight reports that explicitly count confirmed deportations of US citizens.