Tell Congress: End ICE's Detention of American Citizens

DHS says it is “NOT arresting U.S. citizens by mistake.” But ProPublica just found more than 500 cases of citizens being detained by ICE officers.

Since January 2025, immigration agents have detained at least 506 American citizens. The 100-plus held after agents questioned their citizenship were nearly all people of color. At least 70 were kids and teens, some in handcuffs, even though the administration insists “ICE does not zip tie or restrain children.” About a dozen citizens, mostly children, were deported.

DHS calls its enforcement “highly targeted.” Tell that to the 20-year-old jailed in Florida for over a day despite having proof of citizenship. To the 18-year-old taken off the street and left in the woods. Or to the Baltimore woman held 25 days who missed Christmas with her 5-year-old.

It's time to demand accountability and an end to immigration officers' attacks on U.S. citizens.

Tell Congress: Investigate DHS for detaining and deporting American citizens, and make it stop.

DHS can keep denying their record because they're not counting. The government does not track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. ProPublica had to build the count itself, and its 506 cases are sure to be an undercount. An agency that doesn’t count its mistakes can’t claim it makes none.

And it gets worse. About 300 Americans were detained for allegedly assaulting or obstructing agents, and fewer than half were charged. At least 63 were detained while filming agents, something courts have recognized the First Amendment protects. Thirty-six were held for at least a day without being able to contact a lawyer or their families.

Congress can end this, and every member should have to answer for it before the midterms. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan and House Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino can subpoena DHS records, put officials under oath, and demand the numbers the government doesn’t keep. A bill to require tracking, H.R. 4703, has sat in Jordan’s committee since July 2025. 

We need public pressure to move accountability forward now. Because no American should be handcuffed, jailed, or deported while an agency insists it never happens.

Add your name now: Demand Congress investigate DHS and ICE for detaining and deporting American citizens, and force them to count every case.

The petition to Congress reads:

“Investigate DHS and ICE for detaining and deporting American citizens, and require them to track and publicly report every detention of a U.S. citizen.”