Fact check: Can ICE legally detain and/or arrest US citizens?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, ICE can and does legally detain and arrest US citizens under certain circumstances. Multiple recent cases demonstrate this practice:

• Cary López Alvarado, a 28-year-old US citizen who was nine months pregnant, was detained by ICE agents despite her citizenship status ^[1]
• Leonardo García Venegas, a 25-year-old US citizen, was forcibly detained by ICE agents at an Alabama construction site, with agents falsely claiming his proof of citizenship was fake ^[2]
• Javier Ramirez, reportedly a US citizen, was arrested during an immigration raid in Montebello ^[3]
• Kayla Somarriba, a pregnant US citizen, was detained while driving her undocumented husband and brother-in-law to a court hearing when surrounded by ICE and Department of Homeland Security vehicles ^[4]

The legal basis for these detentions appears to include circumstances such as obstructing federal law enforcement ^[1] and situations where US citizens are present during immigration enforcement operations targeting non-citizens.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several crucial pieces of context:

• Expanded enforcement tactics: ICE has quietly scaled back rules for courthouse raids, making arrests in and around courthouses more common ^[5], which increases the likelihood of US citizen encounters with ICE
• Mistaken identity issues: The Trump administration's efforts to accelerate deportations and use expedited removal processes may involve US citizens who are mistakenly identified as undocumented immigrants ^[6]
• Collateral impact: US citizens are frequently affected by ICE actions even when they are not the primary targets, such as when family members are detained ^[7]
• Legal justifications: ICE appears to use various legal rationales for detaining citizens, including obstruction charges and situations where citizens are present during enforcement operations

Government officials and immigration enforcement agencies would benefit from broad interpretation of ICE's detention authority, as it provides operational flexibility. Conversely, civil rights organizations and immigrant advocacy groups would benefit from restricting such authority to protect constitutional rights.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself does not contain misinformation, but it lacks important nuance about the frequency and circumstances under which these detentions occur. The question implies uncertainty about ICE's legal authority when recent evidence shows this practice is already happening regularly.

The framing could be misleading by suggesting this is a theoretical legal question rather than acknowledging it as an active enforcement practice affecting US citizens. The cases documented span from May to June 2025, indicating this is not an isolated or rare occurrence but part of current immigration enforcement operations.