Index/Topics/ICE Detention of U.S. Citizens (2015-2020)

ICE Detention of U.S. Citizens (2015-2020)

The detention and deportation of U.S. citizens by ICE between 2015 and 2020, including the cases of Davino Watson and Ada Morales, and the response of organizations such as the ACLU and ProPublica.

Fact-Checks

6 results
Jan 22, 2026
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How have numbers of detained children by ICE changed since 2016?

Since 2016 reporting and official statistics show a marked rise in in recent years, driven mainly by renewed and a dramatic expansion of the overall population in 2024–2026; however, the provided sour...

Jan 18, 2026
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Historical instances of ICE detaining US citizens by mistake

The historical record shows multiple documented instances where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and related DHS components detained, and in some cases deported, people later determined ...

Jan 22, 2026
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What do ICE and independent datasets say about the criminal conviction status by nationality of detainees?

classify detainees by criminal-history categories and show a substantial and growing share of people in custody without criminal convictions, a trend corroborated by independent trackers such as , and...

Feb 7, 2026

How have recent ICE enforcement actions affected protest activity and federal responses across U.S. cities?

enforcement operations—centered on Operation Metro Surge in —has catalyzed in dozens of cities, driven both by and by a broader fear of mass deportations, while provoking a patchwork of federal and lo...

Feb 5, 2026

What are documented trends in ICE detention population and deaths in custody since 2019?

Since 2019 the picture of shows two linked trends: a volatile detained population that plunged during the and then climbed sharply afterward, and a rise and fall — and most recently a sharp spike — in...

Feb 1, 2026

How have ICE detention counts for non‑criminal detainees changed from 2024 to 2026 and what datasets track that trend?

detention of people without criminal convictions rose sharply from late 2024 into 2026, driving most of the agency’s net increase in detained populations, and multiple independent and official dataset...