Thompson, Correa Call for Review of DHS’s Wrongful Arrests and Deportations of U.S. Citizens
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Border Security & Enforcement, requested that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) review whether the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has adequate safeguards to protect U.S. citizens from being swept up in the Trump administration’s extreme immigration enforcement dragnet.
The request follows several concerning reports of U.S. citizens being detained and injured during immigration enforcement. The Ranking Members pointed to GAO’s 2021 findings that ICE had inconsistent guidance for investigating citizenship and failed to track encounters involving U.S. citizens systematically.
“U.S. citizens are not subject to administrative immigration enforcement and removal processes, which are only applicable to potentially removable foreign nationals.” The Ranking Members wrote. “Yet, there are reports that, since January 2025, some U.S. citizens were mistakenly subject to immigration detainers, detained, or removed by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on administrative immigration charges.”
The Ranking Members asked GAO to update its 2021 review with five years of data on immigration enforcement involving U.S. citizens and examine how ICE and CBP verify citizenship, including before ICE issues detainers, and ensure officers follow those procedures.
Read the full letter here.
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