Deportation and detention of American citizens in the second Trump administration

Trump has stated his administration is investigating whether there are legal ways to send U.S. citizen convicted of crimes to the maximum security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador.{{cite news |last=Riccardi |first=Nicholas |date=April 15, 2025 |title=Trump says he wants to imprison US citizens in El Salvador. That's likely illegal |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-citizens-prison-el-salvador-illegal-79113d0ccefefd1f7d8e51c3a4c3defd |access-date=April 29, 2025 |work=Associated Press}}{{cite news |last=Bianco |first=Ali |date=March 21, 2025 |title=Trump floats sending Americans to foreign prisons. Civil rights groups say that would be illegal. |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/21/trump-foreign-prison-threats-civil-rights-groups-027162 |access-date=April 11, 2025 |work=Politico}}{{cite news |last=Powel |first=James |date=April 7, 2025 |title=Trump on sending American prisoners to El Salvadorian prisons: 'I love that' |url=https://usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/07/trump-el-salvador-amercian-prisoners/82982777007/ |access-date=April 11, 2025 |work=USA Today}} During Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele's White House visit, where the two discussed the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man illegally deported to El Salvador, Trump told Bukele "Home-growns are next. The home-growns. You gotta build about five more places. It’s not big enough."{{Cite web |last1=Ward |first1=Myah |last2=Stokols |first2=Eli |date=April 14, 2025 |title=El Salvador won't return wrongly deported Maryland man |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/14/el-salvador-president-return-wrongly-deported-trump-00289234 |access-date=April 14, 2025 |website=Politico |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Slattery |first1=Gram |last2=Morland |first2=Sarah |date=April 15, 2025 |title=Trump calls for deporting some citizens to El Salvador, testing US law |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-wants-deport-some-us-citizens-el-salvador-2025-04-14/ |access-date=April 23, 2025 |work=Reuters}}

The issue was first raised when U.S. and El Salvador formed an agreement to house people of any nationality in CECOT in exchange for a fee paid by the U.S. government. Bukele extended the offer to convicted criminals serving their sentence in the United States who are U.S. citizens or legal residents. He confirmed the statement on X, saying he offered the U.S. "the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system".{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Matthew |date=February 4, 2025 |title=Rubio says El Salvador offers to accept deportees from US of any nationality, including Americans |url=https://apnews.com/article/migration-rubio-panama-colombia-venezuela-237f06b7d4bdd9ff1396baf9c45a2c0b |access-date=April 11, 2025 |work=Associated Press}} Although the U.S. government cannot legally deport American citizens,{{cite news |last=Alemán |first=Marcos |date=February 5, 2025 |title=What to know about El Salvador's mega-prison after Trump deal to send people there |url=https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-us-rubio-prison-de912f6a8199aaa7c8490585dcaa3b87 |access-date=April 11, 2025 |work=Associated Press}} Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration would study whether the U.S. constitution and laws would enable the administration to do so.{{cite news |last=Chappell |first=Bill |date=February 5, 2025 |title=Would it be legal for Trump to send U.S. citizens to El Salvador's jails? |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/02/05/nx-s1-5287670/trump-el-salvador-americans-prison |access-date=April 11, 2025 |work=NPR}} Rubio called the offer "very generous", noting that it was the first time another country had made such an offer, and that it would cost a fraction of imprisoning criminals in the U.S.

Trump said he was looking into whether he could move forward with the offer, telling reporters "if we had a legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat", but he wasn't sure whether that legal right existed, and the administration was assessing it.{{cite news |last=Friedman |first=Amanda |date=February 4, 2025 |title=Trump backs sending 'dangerous' American prisoners to other countries |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/04/trump-foreign-prisons-americans-011750 |access-date=April 11, 2025 |work=Politico}} Trump said the cost of incarcerating American prisoners in other countries would be much less than that of imprisoning people in the U.S., and in addition "it would be a great deterrent." He said that several countries had already agreed to host American prisoners. Elon Musk called the proposal a "Great idea!!" on X. Rubio specified that this would apply to dangerous criminals. However, Politico noted that Bukele said on X that El Salvador would gladly take U.S. ex-senator Bob Menendez, who was serving an 11-year prison sentence for bribery but who was not a violent criminal.

Trump later suggested on Truth Social that the "sick terrorist thugs" responsible for the recent vandalism of Tesla property could be sent to Salvadoran prisons, "which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions".{{cite news |last=Forrester |first=Megan |date=March 22, 2025 |title=Trump suggests Tesla vandals should be sent to prison in El Salvador |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-suggests-tesla-vandals-prison-el-salvador/story?id=120019715 |access-date=April 11, 2025 |work=ABC News}} Ahead of Bukele's White House visit, Trump confirmed that they would discuss sending Americans to El Salvador's prisons,{{cite news |last=Matza |first=Max |date=April 6, 2025 |title=US judge scolds Trump officials for failing to return man deported in error |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn4jz3v401yo |access-date=April 10, 2025 |work=BBC}} giving his stance as "I love it" and that he would be honored, but that he'd have to see what the law says, "but I can't imagine the law would say anything different... If they can house these horrible criminals for a lot less money than it costs us, I'm all for it."

Politico cited Insha Rahman, vice president of advocacy in the Vera Institute of Justice, as saying there's no precedent to send U.S. citizens outside the country to serve sentences in other countries; "It is so beyond the pale of anything contemplated by the Constitution or due process or the criminal courts." Lauren-Brooke Eisen, the senior director of the justice program at the Brennan Center for Justice, told Politico in a statement that the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishments such as excessive sentences or inhumane prison conditions, and that deporting Americans would be illegal under the First Step Act, which requires that the federal government send those convicted of federal crimes to "a facility as close as practicable to the prisoner's primary residence, and to the extent practicable, in a facility within 500 driving miles of that residence".

The BBC noted that while U.S. citizens enjoy legal protection from deportation, it is possible for naturalized citizens to be denaturalized. This tends to happen when the citizenship was fraudulently obtained, but citizens suspected of ties to criminal gangs or terrorist organizations, such as Tren de Aragua or MS-13, could, in theory, be stripped of citizenship. They would then be at risk of deportation, although such a move would need a formal court process. Citizens born in the U.S. cannot be denaturalized.{{cite news |last=Buschschlüter |first=Vanessa |date=February 4, 2025 |title=Could US criminals be sent to El Salvador's mega-jail? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg4jx8xyjgo |access-date=April 11, 2025 |work=BBC}}

As stated by the magazine New York, "It’s not a matter of if U.S. citizens are getting caught up in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and mass-deportation efforts but, rather, how and how many."

On April 25, 2025, a 7-year-old girl and her 4-year-old brother, who has stage 4 cancer, were deported from the U.S. to Honduras with their mother, who is a Honduran national, despite both children being American citizens, {{Cite web |date=April 28, 2025 |title=U.S. citizen children, including 4-year-old with cancer, taken to Honduras on mother's deportation flight, legal advocates say |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/two-children-us-citizens-4-and-7-year-old-deported-honduras-rcna203208 |access-date=April 30, 2025 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=April 26, 2025 |title=Three U.S. citizens, ages 2, 4 and 7, swiftly deported from Louisiana |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/04/26/us-citizen-children-deported-ice/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250428230641/https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/04/26/us-citizen-children-deported-ice/ |archive-date=April 28, 2025 |access-date=April 30, 2025 |work=The Washington Post |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=April 27, 2025 |title=US: ICE deports 3 American children, say lawyers |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/us-ice-deports-3-american-035500390.html |access-date=April 30, 2025 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-GB}} The mother had crossed into the United States at the age of 13 and claimed asylum at the border. She was ordered to be deported because she missed an appointment with immigration officials. According to her attorney, she never received notice of the appointment.{{Cite web |date=2025-05-01 |title=Trump's deportation campaign is capitalizing on a key hallmark: Speed |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trumps-deportation-campaign-capitalizing-key-hallmark-speed-rcna203969 |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=NBC News |language=en}}

The day before, the children had traveled with their mother and the family's lawyer to a routine check in with ICE in Saint Rose, Louisiana.{{Cite web |last=Andone |first=Dakin |date=April 27, 2025 |title=3 children who are US citizens — including one with cancer — deported with their mothers to Honduras, lawyers and advocacy groups say |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/27/us/children-us-citizens-deported-honduras |access-date=April 30, 2025 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Medina |first=Eduardo |date=2025-04-27 |title=Two Children With U.S. Citizenship Deported to Honduras With Mother, Lawyer Says |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/04/27/us/trump-news#us-citizen-children-deported-honduras-trump |access-date=2025-04-30 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} According to an attorney for the family, the children's mother was told the check in was to photocopy the children's passports, and the children wore their school uniforms, expecting to return to school once the appointment was over.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-30 |title=Lawyers Say Trump’s Admin Is Endangering Moms of Deported American Kids |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/lawyers-trump-admin-endangering-moms-193826577.html |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-GB}} The three of them were detained before they could speak with their lawyer. The children's mother was not permitted to speak with an attorney or family members prior to their deportation, despite trying to do so.{{Cite web |date=April 29, 2025 |title=Attorneys dispute Trump officials' claim that deported moms willingly took their U.S. citizen children |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/deported-moms-citizen-children-cancer-trump-officials-rcna203398 |access-date=April 30, 2025 |website=NBC News |language=en}}

The attorney said she was informed by ICE that they had been detained, but was not permitted to see the two children or their mother, as ICE "sequestered her from me." Attorneys for both the mother and the children insisted that the children were deported illegally. The attorneys provided evidence demonstrating that their mother, other family members, and attorneys "had little to no chance" to arrange for the children to stay in the U.S. rather than being deported.{{Cite news |last=Singh |first=Maanvi |date=April 28, 2025 |title=Mothers deported by Trump ‘denied’ chance to transfer custody of children, lawyer says |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/28/women-children-citizens-deported-honduras |access-date=April 30, 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} The attorneys were in the midst of preparing habeas corpus petitions for the children, but the children were deported before the attorneys could file them.{{Cite news |last=Madani |first=Doha |date=2025-04-28 |title=U.S. citizen children, including 4-year-old with cancer, taken to Honduras on mother's deportation flight, legal advocates say |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/two-children-us-citizens-4-and-7-year-old-deported-honduras-rcna203208 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250430045235/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/two-children-us-citizens-4-and-7-year-old-deported-honduras-rcna203208 |archive-date=2025-04-30 |access-date=2025-06-05 |work=NBC News |language=en-US}}

The 4-year-old had his cancer medication with him, but was not permitted to access it in detention,{{Cite news |title=Trump Lied About Deportation of 4-Year-Old U.S. Citizen, Lawyers Say |url=https://newrepublic.com/post/194547/ice-lied-deported-us-citizen-kids-lawyers |access-date=April 30, 2025 |work=The New Republic |issn=0028-6583}} and was not allowed to bring the medication with him when he was deported. ICE was aware of the 4-year-old's cancer diagnosis and that he was undergoing treatment prior to his deportation.

Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's "border czar", insinuated that the children are anchor babies, commenting that "Having a U.S. citizen child after you enter this country illegally is not a get-out-of-jail free card." In speaking about the deportation of these children and another U.S. citizen child, Homan insisted that the children's mothers requested their children be removed from the country, and said it was preferable to keep the families together.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g8yj2n33yo |title=Three US citizen children, one with cancer, deported to Honduras, lawyers say |work=BBC News |date=April 28, 2025|access-date=April 30, 2025}} Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that the children had been deported, instead saying that they "went with their mothers," and that because they are citizens, they could return to the U.S. if the families arranged for someone in the U.S. to care for them.

VML is a 2-year-old American citizen who was deported to Honduras with her mother in April 2025.{{Cite web |last=Tucker |first=Emma |date=2025-04-26 |title=Federal judge says 2-year-old US citizen appears to have been deported with mother to Honduras |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/us/toddler-deported-honduras-us-citizen-judge/index.html |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2025-04-29 |title=Attorneys dispute Trump officials' claim that deported moms willingly took their U.S. citizen children |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/deported-moms-citizen-children-cancer-trump-officials-rcna203398 |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite news |title=Trump Lied About Deportation of 4-Year-Old U.S. Citizen, Lawyers Say |url=https://newrepublic.com/post/194547/ice-lied-deported-us-citizen-kids-lawyers |access-date=2025-04-30 |work=The New Republic |issn=0028-6583}}

VML, referred to by her initials in court documents to protect her privacy, was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2023.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-25 |title=Judge says 2-year-old US citizen appears to have been deported with ‘no meaningful process’ |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/25/us-citizen-deportation-donald-trump-00311631 |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=POLITICO |language=en}} Her mother, who is a Honduran citizen, was asked to bring her children with her when attending a check in with ICE on April 22, 2025.{{Cite news |last=Singh |first=Maanvi |date=2025-04-28 |title=Mothers deported by Trump ‘denied’ chance to transfer custody of children, lawyer says |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/28/women-children-citizens-deported-honduras |access-date=2025-04-30 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} During the check in, VML, her 11-year old sister, and their mother who is pregnant, were detained and quickly deported.{{Cite web |last=Andone |first=Dakin |date=2025-04-27 |title=3 children who are US citizens — including one with cancer — deported with their mothers to Honduras, lawyers and advocacy groups say |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/27/us/children-us-citizens-deported-honduras/index.html |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=CNN |language=en}} VML's mother was ordered to be deported because — according to her lawyer — she had been kidnapped while waiting in Mexico to immigrate to the United States and wasn't released by her kidnappers until after her appointment had passed.{{Cite web |date=2025-05-01 |title=Trump's deportation campaign is capitalizing on a key hallmark: Speed |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trumps-deportation-campaign-capitalizing-key-hallmark-speed-rcna203969 |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=NBC News |language=en}}

VML's father alleges in court filings that between the time of her detention and deportation, he reached out to ICE and was told that he could attempt to pick up his daughter, but that he would also be "taken into custody" if he did so.{{Cite web |last=Romero |first=Laura |date=April 25, 2025 |title=Trump administration deported 2-year old US citizen 'with no meaningful process,' judge says |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/federal-judge-strong-suspicion-2-year-us-citizen/story?id=121182070 |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=ABC News |language=en}}

At a court hearing, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty highlighted deportation of a U.S. citizen is "illegal and unconstitutional," that he has a "strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process."{{Cite news |last=Felton |first=Emmanuel |last2=Vazquez |first2=Maegan |date=April 26, 2025 |title=Three U.S. citizens, ages 2, 4 and 7, swiftly deported from Louisiana. The cases have renewed concerns that the Trump administration’s expedited deportations are violating the rights of both citizens and noncitizens. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/04/26/us-citizen-children-deported-ice/}}{{Cite web |last=Lotz |first=Avery |date=2025-04-28 |title=What to know about the U.S. citizen children removed with their mothers |url=https://www.axios.com/2025/04/28/us-citizen-children-deported-ice-honduras |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Axios |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Aleaziz |first=Hamed |date=2025-04-29 |title=What to Know About the 3 U.S. Citizen Children Removed to Honduras |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/28/us/politics/us-citizen-children-deported.html |access-date=2025-04-30 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Judge Doughty ordered a hearing on the matter for May 16, 2025.{{Cite web |last=Finn |first=James |date=2025-04-26 |title=A 2-year-old U.S. citizen from Louisiana was deported to Honduras, federal judge says |url=https://www.nola.com/news/politics/2-year-old-us-citizen-new-orleans-deported-honduras-louisiana/article_56ed2979-7609-4c3e-80b8-090b19fac5e4.html |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=NOLA.com |language=en}}

In speaking about the deportation of VML and two other young children who are American citizens, the executive director of ACLU of Louisiana said "Once again, the government has used deceptive tactics to deny people their rights. These outrageous actions must be condemned. We as a nation are better than this. These families deserve better. They must be returned."{{Cite web |date=2025-04-26 |title=Trump Has Now Deported Multiple U.S. Citizen Children With Cancer |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-now-deported-multiple-u-042611827.html |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}

On April 8, 2025, Hermosillo was arrested by the United States Customs and Border Patrol in Tucson.{{efn|Court documents incorrectly state that he was arrested in Nogales, Arizona; an affidavit posted on X by the Department of Homeland Security correctly states the arrest occurred in Tucson.{{Cite web |last=Ruelas |first=Richard |title=Homeland Security releases interview with US citizen held after saying he was from Mexico |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2025/04/22/u-s-citizen-jose-hermosillo-arrested-held-immigration-case/83203021007/ |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Legum |first=Judd |title=US citizen wrongly detained by the border patrol says government's account is false |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/04/us-citizen-jose-hermosillo-wrongly-detained-ice-patrol-governments-account-false/ |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=Mother Jones |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Khmara |first=Danyelle |title=U.S. citizen detained for 10 days by immigration officials may not have known what he was signing - AZPM |url=https://news.azpm.org/s/100806-us-citizen-detained-for-10-days-by-immigration-officials-may-not-have-known-what-he-was-signing/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=news.azpm.org |language=en}} Hermosillo stated after his release that he's never been to Nogales.}} Hermosillo lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico and was in Arizona with his girlfriend visiting her family in Tucson.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-21 |title=U.S. citizen visiting Arizona detained by immigration agents for 10 days, family says |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/new-mexico-teen-visiting-arizona-detained-immigration-agents-family-sa-rcna202102 |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Khmara |first=Danyelle |title=U.S. citizen in Arizona detained by immigration officials for 10 days |url=https://news.azpm.org/p/news-articles/2025/4/18/224512-us-citizen-in-arizona-detained-by-immigration-officials-for-10-days/ |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=news.azpm.org |language=en}} Hermosillo was arrested while walking near the Border Patrol headquarters for illegally entering the country despite not having done so.{{Cite web |last=Begay |first=Mesha |date=2025-04-23 |title=Albuquerque man talks about being wrongfully detained by Border Patrol |url=https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/albuquerque-man-talks-about-being-wrongfully-detained-by-border-patrol/ |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=KOB.com |language=en-US}}

Upon learning of his detention in Florence Correctional Center, a privately owned prison in Florence, Arizona, a member of Hermosillo's girlfriend's family drove to the facility with Hermosillo's Social Security card and birth certificate but was not given any information or allowed to effectuate his release.

The criminal complaint against Hermosillo stated that Hermosillo claimed he is a Mexican citizen, had entered the country illegally through Nogales, and was planning to stay for 20 years to work. According to an anonymous DHS official, Hermosillo then signed a statement with those facts.{{Cite web |last=Fisher |first=Austin |date=April 21, 2025 |title=Arizona AG queries ICE about arrest of New Mexico man • Source New Mexico |url=https://sourcenm.com/briefs/arizona-ag-queries-ice-about-arrest-of-new-mexico-man/ |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=Source New Mexico |language=en-US}} Hermosillo's family and girlfriend say that he has a learning disability and is illiterate. The charging document states that Hermosillo either read the document or had it read to him, but Hermosillo states that it was never read to him.

According to Hermosillo, the Border Patrol's version of events is false. He says that he had a seizure and was taken to a hospital by an ambulance without his state ID card. He says that after being release from the hospital, he got lost and went to a police officer for help. The police officer asked where he was from and he said that he was from "New Mexico". The officer, who worked for the Border Patrol, responded "Don’t make me [out] like [I’m] stupid. I know you’re from Mexico" and arrested him, according to Hermosillo. He says that he told prison staff that he was a US citizen several times, and was told "call your lawyer". He denies that ICE officers read him the document that he signed with his first name.{{cite magazine |last=Rashid |first=Hafiz |title=Detained U.S. Citizen Says Immigration Agents Lied About Everything: Immigration officials detained Jose Hermosillo for over a week. He says their story of what happened is completely inaccurate. |agency= |magazine=The New Republic |location= |pages= |language= |publisher= |date=April 23, 2025 |quote= |url=https://newrepublic.com/post/194303/us-citizen-detained-10-days-dhs-lied |access-date=April 26, 2025}}

Hermosillo was detained for a total of ten days before being released April 17. In an interview after his release, Hermosillo stated that "They were saying I’m from Mexico, but I’m a U.S. citizen."

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is investigating why Hermosillo was detained; her office has requested information about the incident from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She said "It is wholly unacceptable to wrongfully detain U.S. citizens".

On Wednesday, April 16, 2025, Lopez-Gomez, a US citizen born in Georgia, was traveling from Georgia to Florida for a construction job along with two other people.{{Cite news |last=Yang |first=Maya |date=2025-04-18 |title=Florida releases US-born American citizen who was arrested on Ice orders |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/18/florida-us-born-citizen-released-ice |access-date=2025-04-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |last=Llanos |first=Jackie |date=2025-04-18 |title=Federal judge extends block on Florida immigration law that led to arrest of a U.S. citizen • Florida Phoenix |url=https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/04/18/federal-judge-extends-block-on-florida-immigration-law-that-led-to-arrest-of-a-u-s-citizen/ |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=Florida Phoenix |language=en-US}} Their car was pulled over for a traffic stop by the Florida Highway Patrol for allegedly speeding. Lopez-Gomez, along with the driver and an additional passenger, were arrested and each charged with allegedly entering Florida as an "unauthorized alien" under Florida law SB 4-C.{{Cite web |last=Llanos |first=Jackie |date=2025-04-17 |title=U.S.-born man held for ICE under Florida's new anti-immigration law • Florida Phoenix |url=https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/04/17/u-s-born-man-held-for-ice-under-floridas-new-anti-immigration-law/ |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=Florida Phoenix |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2025-04-18 |title=U.S.-born citizen held by ICE in Florida jail |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ice-florida-detention-juan-carlos-lopez-gomez-b2735801.html |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=The Independent |language=en}}

The arrest report states that Lopez-Gomez said he was in the country illegally, but Lopez-Gomez disputes this claim insisting that he told the official he was a US citizen and provided a social security card and Georgia ID.{{Cite web |last=Llanos |first=Jackie |date=2025-04-21 |title=Feds blame U.S. citizen for his arrest under suspended immigration law • Florida Phoenix |url=https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/04/21/feds-blame-u-s-citizen-for-his-arrest-under-suspended-immigration-law/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Florida Phoenix |language=en-US}}

Both Lopez-Gomez's mother and his community advocate presented Lopez-Gomez's birth certificate to Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans, who deemed the birth certificate to be authentic. However, the judge said that there was nothing she could do to let him out of jail at that time, despite finding no probable cause to hold Lopez-Gomez.

Lopez-Gomez was detained in the Leon County Jail until he was released on April 17.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-18 |title=U.S.-born American citizen under ICE hold in Florida is released |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/us-born-american-citizen-ice-hold-florida-released-rcna201854 |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=NBC News |language=en}} The Florida Phoenix reported that the driver was being held by ICE.

Alana Greer of the Community Justice Project — a Florida immigration advocacy group — described the experience as "A series of horrors," and said that "[n]o one should have been arrested under this law, let alone a US citizen."{{Cite web |last=Valdes |first=Carma Hassan, Dianne Gallagher, Gustavo |date=2025-04-18 |title=Mid-commute traffic stop left US citizen detained under an ICE order. Then, a Florida judge verified his US birth certificate |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/17/us/lopez-gomez-citizen-detained-ice-florida/index.html |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=CNN |language=en}}

Lopez-Gomez's attorney stated that this case is "a prime example of why everyone should care, because if it happens to Mr. Lopez-Gomez, a US-born citizen, it can happen to anyone."

Julio Noriega was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he still lives.{{Cite news |last=Cardona-Maguigad |first=Adriana |date=2025-03-13 |title=Chicago attorneys accuse federal agents of violating immigrants’ rights and take legal action |url=https://www.wbez.org/immigration/2025/03/13/chicago-attorneys-accuse-federal-agents-of-violating-immigrants-rights-and-take-legal-action |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313223642/https://www.wbez.org/immigration/2025/03/13/chicago-attorneys-accuse-federal-agents-of-violating-immigrants-rights-and-take-legal-action |archive-date=2025-03-13 |access-date=2025-06-04 |work=WBEZ |language=en}} He has a learning disability that affects his comprehension.{{Cite web |last=Simons |first=Sasha-Ann |last2=Cardona-Maguigad |first2=Adriana |date=2025-03-17 |title=ICE agents allegedly fill out warrants after an arrest; U.S. citizen among those detained |url=https://www.wbez.org/reset-with-sasha-ann-simons/2025/03/17/ice-agents-allegedly-making-arrests-without-warrants |access-date=2025-06-04 |website=WBEZ |language=en}} On January 31, 2025, he had been looking for work, handing out his resume at local businesses in Berwyn, Illinois.{{Cite web |last=Malagón |first=Elvia |date=2025-03-17 |title=Suburban Chicago family pleads for ICE to release father, a local business owner |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/03/17/immigration-arrest-ice-detention-trump-court |access-date=2025-06-04 |website=Chicago Sun-Times |language=en}} He stopped for a slice of pizza, and was grabbed from behind by ICE, arrested without probable cause, handcuffed, and put in a van with other people. ICE took his phone and wallet, which had his Social Security card and driver's license inside. The people in the van were driven around for hours and eventually taken to an ICE processing center in Broadview, Illinois, where he remained for hours, still handcuffed and without access to food, water, or a bathroom. All told, he was detained for at least ten hours without having been asked about his citizenship or otherwise questioned. He was released in the middle of the night after government officials checked his wallet and determined he was actually an American citizen.{{cite news |last=Coleman |first=Vernal |date=March 25, 2025 |title=Under Pressure From Trump, ICE Is Pushing Legal Boundaries |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/ice-warrantless-arrests-chicago-law |access-date=May 11, 2025 |work=ProPublica}} Mark Fleming, the associate director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center, said that ICE then "just sent him out to the street, even though he had no money and had no idea where he was", nor a way to get home. ICE did not give Noriega any documentation of the arrest and detention, and later denied having any record of it, including body camera or other video. Fleming emphasized how important it is that ICE document its actions, even if they release someone. "[T]hey’re making it seem like it never happened — and that’s incredibly concerning." Noriega later told lawyers that several others were released at the same time, and they wondered whether any others in that group were released because they had legal status.

In March 2025, Jensy Machado was stopped and detained while driving to work by ICE. Machado was apparently detained due to a case of mistaken identity and released after officials viewed his driver's license.

{{cite news |first=Jackie |last=Bensen |title=U.S. citizen detained by ICE questions vote for Trump: 'Just following Hispanic people' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/us-citizen-hispanic-detained-ice-questions-vote-trump-rcna195406 |work=NBC News |date=May 10, 2025 | access-date = May 11, 2025}}

In January 2025 the Navajo Nation stated that over a dozen Indigenous people had been questioned, detained, or asked to provide proof of citizenship by federal law enforcement during immigration raids.

On January 23, 2025, a U.S. military veteran from Puerto Rico was detained briefly after a raid at his workplace in a seafood warehouse by federal officials in Newark, New Jersey.

In May 2025, American-born citizen Leonardo Garcia Venegas was detained in a vehicle following an immigration raid in Foley, Alabama. He was subsequently released after giving authorities his Social Security number. Garcia's brother, who is not a U.S. citizen, was arrested during the raid. According to Garcia and his cousin, the authorities conducting the raid saw Garcia's REAL ID and called it fake before detaining him.{{Cite web |last=Gamboa |first=Suzanne |date=May 23, 2025 |title=U.S. citizen with REAL ID handcuffed and held in immigration raid before being released |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/us-citizen-immigration-raid-real-id-handcuffed-alabama-rcna208794 |access-date=May 24, 2025 |website=NBC News |language=en}}

• Activist deportations in the second Trump presidency
• Deportation of Americans from the United States

{{notelist}}

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{{Second presidency of Donald Trump}}

Category:Immigration policy of Donald Trump

Category:Deportation from the United States

Category:Illegal immigration to the United States

Category:Second Trump administration controversies