Which specific individuals are named in congressional and NGO lists of U.S. citizens allegedly deported by ICE?
Executive summary
Congressional committees, NGOs and investigative outlets have produced lists and tallies alleging that U.S. citizens have been arrested, detained, or even deported by ICE, but few of those compilations publish full, verifiable names; the reporting and official reviews most commonly cite aggregated counts, initials, or case summaries rather than complete identities [1] [2] [3]. The clearest individual named across multiple public accounts is a child identified by initials, V.M.L., who advocates and court filings say was a U.S. citizen taken in an ICE action that became the subject of litigation and congressional attention [3] [4] [5].
1. What congressional records and NGO reports actually list
Major oversight and NGO documents cited by media and lawmakers emphasize counts and case examples rather than comprehensive name lists: the Government Accountability Office reported there were “potential” U.S. citizens removed and found weaknesses in agency tracking, but did not publish a roster of names in its audit [1]. The American Immigration Council synthesized GAO findings and framed the figure “70 potential U.S. citizens” deported between 2015 and 2020, again without producing a public list of identified individuals [2]. Congressional letters and hearings referenced dozens of troubling cases and asked DHS to investigate but relied on aggregated allegations and case descriptions rather than releasing full personal identifiers [6] [3].
2. Which specific individuals appear by name or initial in public reporting
Public reporting and committee materials that are accessible name very few individuals; the recurring example across the congressional record and press coverage is a toddler referred to as V.M.L., described as a U.S. citizen who was taken into ICE custody with family members during an April 2025 encounter and whose removal sparked court actions and a May hearing order by a federal judge [3] [4]. Other citations in reporting use initials or partial identifiers—instances referenced as “RMZ,” “Lopez‑Villela,” or parents and guardians described in narrative form—but those appear in summaries or Wikipedia excerpts rather than as a public NGO roster of U.S. citizens deported by ICE [5] [4].
3. Why few full names are available and what the sources say about scope
The lack of a public list of named U.S. citizens stems from several factors documented in the sources: GAO found ICE and CBP do not systematically track citizenship encounters, making definitive identification and public disclosure difficult [1]; NGOs and Congress have therefore relied on media investigations and attorney reports that often withhold full names to protect minors or because litigation is pending [2] [3]. Reporting and memos instead combine specific case narratives—some naming individuals or initials—with broader tallies that show systemic gaps: the American Immigration Council and GAO quantify the problem but stop short of releasing a name-by-name registry [2] [1].
4. Alternative perspectives, agency posture, and reporting limitations
ICE and DHS historically acknowledge rare instances of citizens being detained and emphasize internal policies for verifying citizenship; oversight pushback contends those policies are unevenly applied and poorly tracked, which is why Congress and NGOs press for investigations rather than publishing exhaustive public lists [1] [6]. Media outlets and advocacy groups sometimes publish names when families or attorneys consent, but the available sources in this dossier show that public, verifiable name-lists from congressional or NGO compilations are uncommon and that much reporting relies on aggregates, initials, or case summaries that cannot be independently verified from the documents provided here [2] [3] [5].
5. Bottom line for the record asked for
Based on the documentary record assembled by GAO, congressional materials, and NGO summaries available here, the only consistently cited individual identifier across those compilations is the toddler referred to as V.M.L.; broader claims—such as GAO’s “70 potential U.S. citizens” figure—do not come with public, named lists in these sources, and other named references in press snippets are initials or partial identifiers rather than a published congressional/NGO roster of full names [3] [2] [1]. If complete, verifiable name lists exist they are not present in the sources reviewed; the sources instead show patterns, case examples, and institutional data problems that motivated congressional inquiries and NGO summaries [1] [6].