Warren, Kelly, Padilla, Correa, Goldman Lead Push for Homeland Security Department to Investigate Arrests, Detention, and Deportation of U.S. Citizens
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), along with Representatives Lou Correa (D-Calif.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) led 48 Congressional Democrats in writing to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, urging them to launch an investigation into the Department’s stops, arrests, detentions, and deportations of U.S. citizens.
“Sweeping enforcement operations by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents — particularly within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — threaten the safety, due process, and civil liberties of Americans around the country,” said the lawmakers.
ICE policy makes clear that, by law “ICE cannot assert its civil immigration enforcement authority to arrest and/or detain a U.S. citizen.” Yet, in recent high-profile cases, ICE has arrested U.S. citizens, even appearing to use violent physical force. ICE has also detained citizens in immigration detention facilities, sometimes for over a week.
ICE has even deported U.S. citizens, including children, along with their undocumented parents, reportedly against the families’ wishes.
“Particularly in Latino and Native American communities, Americans increasingly fear that their citizenship will not protect them from being swept up in DHS’s immigration enforcement activities,” wrote the lawmakers.
Agents are also failing to attempt to verify citizenship and ignoring citizens’ offers to show proof of citizenship, even though ICE policy directs them to “handle these matters with the utmost care and highest priority.”
ICE’s erroneous enforcement actions against U.S. citizens are not new, and have long been acknowledged by the agency. But under the second Trump administration, this rare practice is becoming more frequent. Experts warn that “citizens are becoming increasingly vulnerable in a system moving faster and operating with fewer safeguards.” The number of impacted citizens may continue to grow, as ICE engages in indiscriminate raids to triple daily arrest numbers to 3,000 while gutting due process—including by firing immigration judges, expanding expedited removal, and exploiting the Alien Enemies Act. ICE has reminded field offices to update citizenship data in agency databases, but it is unclear whether agents are complying with that directive.
“When immigration agents arrest Americans without sufficient cause or simply because they are near an enforcement action, detain them without access to counsel, or ignore proof of citizenship, DHS fails in its core duty to protect the public and undermines trust in its operations,” the lawmakers concluded.
The members of Congress asked the agency to provide, by September 5, 2025, clarity on its policies and guidelines related to arresting or detention of U.S. citizens, along with: data on stops, arrests, detentions, and deportations of citizens this year; information about how agents are trained to verify citizenship status; and any ongoing reviews of wrongful detentions of citizens.
U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) joined in signing the letter.
Representatives Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Donald S. Beyer Jr. (D-Va.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Yvette Clark (D-N.Y.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Laura Friedman (D-Calif.), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-Ill.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Al Green (D-Texas), Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Jonathan L. Jackson (D-Ill.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Timothy M. Kennedy (D-N.Y.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Dave Min (D-Calif.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) joined in signing as well.
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