Dayanne Figueroa was on her technique to work in Chicago final month when she drove onto a avenue the place an immigration enforcement motion was in progress. As she tried to drive across the chaos, an unmarked car collided along with her automotive. Masked males jumped out of the car, weapons drawn and dragged Figueroa from her automotive by her legs. She was thrown right into a minivan, taken away and held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for hours. Dayanne Figueroa is an American citizen.
Figueroa’s arrest, captured in a now-viral video, illustrates the rising variety of U.S. residents caught up in federal immigration actions. These arrests and detentions violate ICE tips in addition to the Structure.
Figueroa’s case will not be an remoted incident. The nonprofit newsroom ProPublica has documented greater than 170 circumstances of U.S. residents, largely Latinos, being detained at raids and protests since January.
People have been tackled, tased, crushed and shot by immigration authorities. Some residents have been held with out entry to counsel or the flexibility to name their family members. They embody a 79-year-old man who was body-slammed to the bottom by brokers in Van Nuys, an Military veteran in Camarillo who was tear-gassed earlier than being thrown in detention for 3 days, and a Cal Poly Pomona grad who was knocked down by brokers and spent two nights in jail.
There are seemingly many extra circumstances of U.S. residents held by immigration authorities that haven’t come to mild. The precise numbers are unknown as a result of the federal government doesn’t launch statistics about such encounters.
ICE insurance policies state that “as a matter of legislation, ICE can’t assert its civil immigration enforcement authority to arrest and/or detain U.S. residents.” These identical tips say that brokers are purported to “fastidiously and expeditiously examine” citizenship claims and to “deal with these issues with the utmost care and highest precedence.”
Clearly, brokers will not be following this steering for coping with residents. An Alabama man was detained twice by ICE, regardless of having a REAL ID card on him. Figueroa, the Chicago lady dragged from her car, was zip-tied and arrested by brokers who refused to consider that her passport was actual. These individuals have been carrying legitimate proof of their citizenship — and have been detained anyway.
The wrongful arrest of U.S. residents by immigration brokers will not be new; it occurred below Presidents Biden and Obama, and through President Trump’s first time period. What’s new is that Homeland Safety and ICE are dramatically ramping up enforcement actions, whereas working with much less oversight than up to now. This has resulted in better potential for errors — and for extra traumatized or injured People.
The federal government denies that these episodes are taking place. “There’s no Americans which have been arrested or detained,” Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem mentioned in October. “We give attention to these which might be right here illegally.” Any proof on the contrary, she asserted, was “merely not true.” Noem’s declare was rated “Pants on Fireplace!” by the web site Politifact. It is also contradicted by Homeland Safety press releases explaining why some residents have been arrested or detained.
When residents are arrested by immigration brokers, it’s incessantly on the grounds of assaulting or impeding officers. The ProPublica report, nevertheless, discovered that such fees usually have been dismissed later or dropped. That’s what occurred to Figueroa in Chicago. A Homeland Safety spokesperson referred to as her “an agitator” who was arrested “for assault on a federal agent.” But as soon as Figueroa was launched from detention, no fees have been filed towards her.
A latest Supreme Court docket ruling permits immigration brokers to make use of components together with race, ethnicity and language as grounds for stopping individuals who they believe of being within the nation illegally. However this choice will not be a license for ICE to harass, assault or abuse residents. All People nonetheless have the appropriate to due course of, to equal safety below the legislation and to be free from unlawful search and seizures below the 4th Modification.
Democratic lawmakers are proper to demand extra scrutiny of ICE actions. Immigration brokers should be sure that they’re performing inside their jurisdiction earlier than detaining any particular person, and they need to be higher skilled to deal with encounters involving residents. The federal government ought to observe statistics on such incidents. These proposals will not be unreasonable; below the spending invoice signed in July, ICE has greater than $28 billion at its disposal for this 12 months alone.
At stake right here will not be solely the rights of U.S. residents but in addition belief in federal legislation enforcement. An October YouGov ballot discovered that 60% of People consider that ICE is arresting residents “Usually” or “Typically.” It is a low vote of confidence for an company that’s already unpopular with the general public.
ICE practices endanger the protection, due course of and civil liberties of U.S. residents. The illegal arrests and detention of People should finish.
Raul A. Reyes is an immigration lawyer and contributor to NBC Latino and CNN Opinion. X: @RaulAReyes; Instagram: @raulareyes1
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Concepts expressed within the piece
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ProPublica has documented greater than 170 circumstances of U.S. residents detained by immigration brokers throughout raids and protests in 2025, with residents experiencing bodily violence together with being tasered, crushed and shot[3]. Residents carrying legitimate identification similar to passports have been detained regardless of proving their citizenship[3], and greater than 20 residents have been held incommunicado with out entry to authorized counsel or the flexibility to contact members of the family[3].
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Enforcement actions have expanded dramatically with roughly 204,000 arrests made between October 2024 and June 2025, but round 65 % of detainees had no prison information[2]. Costs introduced towards detained residents are incessantly dismissed or dropped after their launch[3], suggesting that detention choices could not stand up to authorized scrutiny.
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ICE insurance policies explicitly prohibit the detention of U.S. residents, but these tips will not be being adopted in present enforcement operations[3].
Completely different views on the subject
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Brokers have characterised detentions of Americans as justified responses to interference with federal operations or assault on officers, though roughly 130 such fees towards Americans have been subsequently dismissed or dropped[3].
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The Trump administration has prioritized immigration enforcement as a coverage goal, allocating $45 billion for detention operations and $30 billion for enforcement actions[1]. This enforcement dedication is mirrored in immigration detention reaching file ranges of 61,200 individuals as of August 2025[1], the best quantity ever recorded, and the administration’s enlargement of detention infrastructure by opening 59 new services[1].
