Fact check: How many us citizens have been wrongfully deported before 2014

1. Summary of the results

The analyses reveal that no source provides a specific number of US citizens wrongfully deported before 2014. However, several key data points emerge from the available information:

• Between 2002 and 2017, ICE wrongly identified at least 2,840 U.S. citizens as potentially eligible for removal, with at least 214 taken into custody for a period of time ^[1]
• In 2013 alone, the United States conducted 438,421 deportations, with approximately 83 percent occurring without a hearing ^[2]
• Some of those deported in 2013 were US citizens or had lawful status, though no specific number is provided ^[2]
• One analysis estimates that about 1% of all deportation cases involve US citizens, and that half of 1% of all deportees are US citizens ^[3]
• The Obama administration conducted over 2 million deportations during his presidency, with thousands of US citizens detained or deported each year due to system errors ^[4]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several crucial contextual elements that the analyses reveal:

• Systemic nature of the problem: The issue extends beyond simple numerical counts to encompass broader problems with due process, where 83% of deportations in 2013 occurred without hearings ^[2]
• Ongoing institutional failures: The analyses show this is not an isolated historical issue but part of a pattern of reliance on border officers to determine fates with insufficient oversight ^[5]
• Data limitations: Multiple sources indicate that tracking and reporting of wrongful deportations is incomplete and inaccurate ^[3], suggesting the true scope may be significantly underreported
• Vulnerable populations: The analyses highlight that the system particularly impacts transgender individuals, asylum seekers, and those with lawful status who become caught in deportation proceedings ^[5]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question, while straightforward, contains an implicit assumption that precise data exists for wrongful deportations before 2014. The analyses demonstrate this assumption is problematic because:

• Government agencies have historically failed to maintain comprehensive records of wrongful deportations, making exact pre-2014 numbers unavailable ^{[1] [3]}
• The question frames this as a historical issue rather than recognizing it as an ongoing systemic problem that continued well beyond 2014 ^{[1] [4]}
• By focusing solely on numbers, the question may inadvertently minimize the broader due process violations and institutional failures that enable wrongful deportations ^{[2] [5]}

The analyses suggest that organizations like the ACLU and American Immigration Council benefit from highlighting these cases to advocate for immigration reform, while government agencies may benefit from the lack of comprehensive tracking that obscures the full scope of the problem.