Fact check: Have US citizens ever been deported?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, US citizens have been wrongfully detained but not formally deported. The evidence shows several documented cases of US citizens being caught up in immigration enforcement actions:

• Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a US citizen, was detained by ICE for nearly 48 hours ^[1]
• Jose Hermosillo, another US citizen, was arrested and detained for nearly 10 days ^[1]

However, the analyses indicate that actual deportations of US citizens appear to be extremely rare or non-existent. One high-profile case involved false claims by the ACLU that DHS had deported a US citizen child, but this lawsuit was dropped when it was revealed that the child's mother had voluntarily chosen to bring her US citizen child with her when she was deported to Honduras ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks important nuance about the distinction between detention and deportation of US citizens. Several key contextual elements are missing:

• The analyses suggest that while US citizens may be mistakenly detained during immigration enforcement, formal deportation of citizens is legally prohibited and extremely rare ^[3]
• The Trump administration's immigration crackdown created conditions where US citizens were more likely to be wrongfully detained, as evidenced by the documented cases ^[1]
• Immigration advocacy organizations like the ACLU benefit from highlighting cases of potential citizen deportations to build support for their cause, even when claims prove to be false ^[2]
• The Department of Homeland Security benefits from demonstrating that they do not deport citizens and that accusations to the contrary are unfounded ^[2]

The analyses also reveal that most ICE detainees have no criminal convictions, which suggests that the enforcement net is cast broadly enough that citizens could potentially be caught up in it ^[4].

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself is not biased, but it fails to distinguish between detention and deportation - a crucial legal distinction. The question could inadvertently perpetuate confusion about whether US citizens are actually being removed from the country versus being temporarily detained.

The analyses reveal that advocacy groups have made false claims about citizen deportations that were later proven incorrect, suggesting that misinformation exists on multiple sides of this issue ^[2]. The question would benefit from more specificity about whether it's asking about formal deportation proceedings or broader immigration enforcement actions affecting citizens.