ICE Detains Hundreds of U.S. Citizens and 8,500 Children
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained 506 U.S. citizens and over 8,500 children during Donald Trump's second term, sparking legal challenges and legislative responses.
A ProPublica investigation and advocacy reports reveal that United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained 506 U.S. citizens since January 2025. The majority of these citizens were people of color, including at least 70 children and teenagers. Some citizens were deported, while others were held for days without access to legal counsel or family. In the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region, ICE arrested nearly 20,000 people, including 1,328 during a specific sweep called Operation Safe Community.
Simultaneously, ICE has arrested more than 8,500 children, more than doubling the number of child arrests from the previous year. Many of these children, most without criminal convictions, were held in hotels and office building hold rooms. While the U.S. Department of Homeland Security defended these operations as targeted public-safety campaigns, a federal judge overseeing the Flores settlement ordered ICE to stop using hotels for detention except in brief exceptions.
In response to these actions, Democratic representatives introduced the ICE Shootings Transparency Act to increase accountability for use-of-force incidents. Legal challenges have also emerged, including a preliminary injunction from a U.S. District Judge restricting warrantless civil immigration arrests in Washington, D.C. The government has dismissed data regarding these arrests as inaccurate but has not provided alternative figures.
