Fact check: How many US citizens have been wrongly deported by ICE since 2020?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the available analyses, there is no comprehensive data available on the specific number of US citizens wrongly deported by ICE since 2020. The sources provide limited information that fails to directly answer the question posed.

The most relevant historical context comes from one source indicating that between 2015 and 2020, ICE deported at least 70 people who were U.S. citizens ^[1]. However, this data predates the timeframe specified in the question and does not address post-2020 deportations.

The analyses reveal several individual cases that illustrate the ongoing nature of this problem:

• Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was wrongly deported to El Salvador due to an administrative error, though the specific date is not provided ^[2]
• Miguel Silvestre, a U.S. citizen born and raised in Stockton, was wrongly deported to Mexico in 1999 and faced another deportation order in 2025 ^{[3] [4]}
• A case involving Jenny Carolina Lopez-Villela's child, a U.S. citizen who was taken to Honduras with the mother, though sources clarify the mother chose to bring the child and the child's citizenship was not the reason for deportation ^[5]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The question assumes that wrongful deportations of US citizens are occurring since 2020, but the analyses reveal significant gaps in available data and transparency. Several critical pieces of context are missing:

• No systematic tracking or reporting of US citizen deportations appears to exist in the public domain, making it impossible to provide accurate numbers ^[6]
• The analyses suggest this is not a new phenomenon, with documented cases dating back to 1999, indicating a systemic issue that predates recent political administrations ^{[3] [4]}
• ICE's own statistics focus on general enforcement operations but do not distinguish between citizens and non-citizens in their deportation data ^[6]

The Department of Homeland Security appears to benefit from limited transparency on this issue, as one source specifically mentions an ACLU-supported lawsuit over false claims being dropped ^[5], suggesting legal challenges to obtain this information have been unsuccessful.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question contains an implicit assumption that may constitute bias: it presupposes that US citizens have been wrongly deported since 2020, rather than asking whether such deportations have occurred. This framing suggests the questioner already believes wrongful deportations are happening.

However, the analyses reveal that comprehensive data to support or refute this assumption simply does not exist in the public domain. The question may inadvertently spread misinformation by implying that reliable statistics on this topic are available when they are not.

The focus on the "since 2020" timeframe may also introduce political bias, as this coincides with recent changes in presidential administrations. The historical data showing at least 70 wrongful deportations between 2015-2020 ^[1] suggests this issue spans multiple administrations and is not limited to any particular political period.