ICE and CBP Detaining U.S. Citizens

Table of Contents
31 Examples of ICE\CBP Wrongful and Unjust Detainment of U.S. Citizens
  • Teenage girl
    U.S. Citizen
    Mississippi
    Jan 13, 2026
    A U.S. citizen teenage girl was racially profiled, forcibly removed from a vehicle and handcuffed by agents without even asking for any documents and despite being a minor. When finally allowed to show proof of citizenship, agents cruelly "snatched the documents from her hand" as if angry they couldn't make an arrest.
  • Patty O’Keefe and Brandon Sigüenza
    Trained ICE Observers
    U.S. Citizen
    Minneapolis, MN
    Jan 13, 2026
    Trained observers had their car vents pepper sprayed and windows smashed by an ICE agent for documenting their actions and said of recently murdered Renee Good, "that’s why that lesbian b—— is dead." One agent ripped the whistle off Brandon Sigüenza's neck taunting that he's "gonna be needing this later." Other agents taunted and mocked Patty O’Keefe including calling her ugly. They were detained for 8 hours and released without charges.
  • Jose Martinez
    U.S. Citizen
    Cruise ship in Miami, FL
    Jan 7, 2026
    U.S. citizen and Coast Guard veteran Jose Martinez had immigration agents aggressively bust into his cruise ship stateroom in an incident he described as "flashlights in our faces, screaming my name, barking commands, telling me to get out of bed, put me up against the wall and handcuffed me." He was needlessly detained for 1.5 hours after a weeklong cruise with without apology because he happened to have the same extremely common name of another man they were looking for.
  • Mubashir
    U.S. Citizen
    Minneapolis, MN
    Dec 10, 2025
    20-year-old Minneapolis resident and U.S. citizen Mubashir was slammed against a wall, put in a chokehold and handcuffed by two masked men and in the process is heard screaming in pain, "My hand!".
    • The ICE agents refused to look at digital and paper copies of his passport or to look him up based on his name and date of birth.
    • Then, they drove him around in circles pulling out maps feigning that they were lost.
    • When they arrived at a facility, they made him stand in the cold until he consented to a face scan which did not work, and they further refused requests for water, medical attention and to warm his hands.
    • Eventually, someone at the facility took the simple step of looking at his digital passport on his phone confirming both his citizenship and the egregiously racist and sadistic behavior of agents who arrested him.
    • And of course, when he asked to be taken back to where he was picked up, they told him to walk back in the cold and snow.
  • Susan Tincher
    U.S. Citizen
    Minneapolis, MN
    Dec 9, 2025
    55-year-old U.S. citizen Susan Tincher was detained for 5 hours for passively protesting and recording an ICE raid of 8 unmarked vehicles from a safe distance. She was thrown to the ground, needlessly cuffed, shackled, threatened with pepper spray and had her wedding ring cut off.
  • Somali woman U.S. citizen
    U.S. Citizen
    Minneapolis, MN
    Dec 5, 2025
    A Somali woman U.S. citizen was accosted by multiple ICE agents, zip-tied and detained 24 hours in Minneapolis for no reason. She was touched inappropriately and mocked with agents saying, "What could you be hiding under your hijab?" and "This would be the wrong attire to try and run away from us in."
  • Bryan
    Construction worker
    U.S. Citizen
    Baldwin Park neighborhood of L.A.
    Dec 5, 2025
    A U.S. citizen construction worker had his phone taken and handcuffed by CBP agents of which they obstinately said, "you’re being detained for your own safety."
    • They refused to say what he was being detained for and drove off with him cuffed in the back without a seatbelt.
    • They peppered him with questions and then dropped him off at some random place 10 to 20 minutes away callously tossing his belongings to the ground in the process (his wallet, ID, hat and mask).
    • There were further egregious violations of the Constitution and racial profiling.
    • Someone took video of people at the house under construction with a phone under the false pretense of using the restroom on site just 15 minutes before agents arrived.
    • They did not have a warrant and previously passed the house as if they were scouting it and then circled back indicating racial profiling was involved.
  • Hispanic U.S. Navy Sailor
    U.S. Citizen
    Norfolk, VA
    Dec 3, 2025
    A Hispanic navy sailor in uniform drove off base and was immediately pulled over and detained by ICE for 90 minutes after they refused to accept his military ID as proof of citizenship and forced someone to bring his passport before releasing him.
  • Elaine Miles
    Indigenous actor
    U.S. Citizen
    Pendleton, OR
    Nov 28, 2025
    Indigenous actor Elaine Miles was randomly stopped and detained while walking to a bus stop by four masked ICE agents who questioned her valid tribal papers saying they "looked fake" and "anyone can make that." They refused to call the phone number on the ID to verify, and when she attempted to call herself they tried to take her phone. It took a fifth agent to eventually intervene before they let her go. In addition, her son and uncle were also previously detained and had their tribal IDs question before being let go.
  • Christian Jimenez
    17-year-old high school student
    U.S. Citizen
    McMinnville high school, Oregon
    Nov 23, 2025
    17-year-old high school student Christian Jimenez had his car window smashed and was detained for 5 hours at an ICE facility despite being a U.S. citizen of which officers responded to his assertation of such with "I don’t care." It appears they targeted him for simply filming or following them which he had done in the past.
  • Two women following ICE Vehicles
    U.S. Citizen
    Charlotte, NC
    Nov 18, 2025
    Two women U.S. citizens had their car windows dangerously smashed in by an AR-15 muzzle after which they were zip-tied, arrested and held in federal custody for hours before being released with just minor citations. Agents were unhappy with the women for merely honking their horns alerting people to ICE.
  • Fernando Vazquez
    18-year-old construction worker
    U.S. Citizen
    Cary, NC
    Nov 18, 2025
    18-year-old U.S. citizen Fernando Vazquez was racially profiled by CBJ agents who drove up to a job site in unmarked SUVs and approached him wearing masks and dark sunglasses and asked him "where are you from?" and further questioned him in Spanish. One agent ripped his AirPod out of his ear and when he tried to put it safely back in its case, the agent yelled "don't touch me" despite him not making any moves towards him. He had his North Carolina Real ID proving his citizenship, yet they handcuffed and drove him away with an agent getting angry to him further asserting details of being a citizen. Finally, they pulled into a parking lot, uncuffed him and threw his wallet and cards out the window which scattered to the ground. They did this instead of admitting their mistake, driving him back to where they took him from, personally handing him his wallet and apologizing for the inconvenience from their mistake which any respectful and decent law enforcement officer would do.
  • 32-year-old father & his 1-year-old daughter
    U.S. Citizen
    Los Angeles Home Depot Parking Lot
    Nov 6, 2025
    A 32-year-old father and U.S. citizen was removed from his vehicle by masked immigration agents who then drove off in his car with his one-year-old daughter strapped in the back seat ignoring yelled warnings by a witness that "there's a baby in the back" (presumably on purpose). The family did not know where she was for a while and the baby's grandmother was made to wait for hours at an immigration center and provide proof of citizenship before they returned the baby.
  • 23-year-old woman
    U.S. Citizen
    Gresham suburb of Portland, OR
    Nov 4, 2025
    A 23-year-old woman U.S. citizen taking photos of unmarked federal immigration vehicles had her car window broken, handcuffed and detained in a cell for 7 hours with chains around her legs She was denied a phone call to a lawyer with an obvious lie that the landlines were down and during her detention agents were "laughing like it was a joke."
  • Sixteen-year-old Arnoldo Bazan & his father
    U.S. Citizen
    Restaurant Depot store in Houston, TX
    Oct 28, 2025
    Sixteen-year-old U.S. citizen Arnoldo Bazan was beaten, choked and verbally attacked with racial slurs by plain clothed and masked ICE officers outside a restaurant supply-chain store in Houston. When he cried out that he was underage, the agent started to choke him more which was severe enough for a witness to yell out "you're fixing to break his neck." He also said an agent took his phone after they noticed him filming the initial encounter, and he was detained for hours before being released without charges. During the incident his father was also roughed up and kicked. Agents previously cut off the car the father was driving in with his father with two unmarked vehicles and recklessly escalated the situation by smashing the windows after which Arnulfo said he was scared and drove off briefly to escape before stopping again.
  • Ashley Palomares
    U.S. Citizen
    Wilder, Idaho horse track
    Oct 24, 2025
    Ashley Palomares was taken to do the ground and cuffed in an excessive use of force by agents and detained for 2 1/2 hours despite having her ID and being born in the USA. An older woman detained with her said she needed to use the bathroom and instead of helping the officer laughed. She also observed a boy around 14 grabbed by the neck and zip-tied.
  • 15-year-old boy
    U.S. Citizen Born in Chicago
    Chicago
    Oct 14, 2025
    A 15-year-old American citizen peacefully protesting excessive use of force by CBP agents was slammed to the ground, cuffed and held down so hard he cried out "my neck, my neck" after which they pushed him down even harder. Then he was detained by agents in a federal building garage for five hours without informing his family, stating any charges, or allowing him to call an attorney or his family.
  • Four U.S. Citizens
    U.S. Citizen
    Concordia Cemetery, Forest Park, IL
    Oct 14, 2025
    Four U.S. citizens were wrongfully detained for hours until released without charges by ICE officers who broke down a cemetery gate and entered private property without a warrant and unnecessarily deployed pepper balls against them.
  • Maria Greeley
    44-year-old Latina worker at a bar
    U.S. Citizen born in Chicago
    Downtown Chicago bar
    Oct 13, 2025
    Bar worker Maria Greeley was zip-tied and questioned for an hour by federal immigration agents after finishing a double shift and despite having her passport and other forms of identification on hand of which the agents repeatedly questioned her valid identification documents as fake and said she "doesn’t look like" a Greeley (she was adopted).
  • Evelyn & two friends
    Chicago students
    U.S. Citizens
    Chicago
    Oct 11, 2025
    A petite 18-year-old Chicagoan woman and legal U.S. resident was violently thrown to the ground and kneed in the neck by a masked ICE agent more than twice her size. He did this despite her yelling out "I'm not resisting" and having three vehicles of agents as backup. She and her two friends were subsequently detained for hours without being able to call their parents knowing where they were until they were released without charges. The ICE agents apparently were unhappy the group was filming them earlier to hold them accountable-- obstinately for completely and utterly egregious acts exactly like this. After the incident became public, DHS propagandist Tricia McLaughlin smeared the 18-year-old woman as a criminal and laughably claimed the quite obviously federal immigration officers were Chicago PD instead.
  • Frank Miranda
    Metal shop employee
    U.S. Citizen
    U.S. Citizen born in California
    Portland, OR
    Oct 11, 2025
    U.S. citizen and Portlander Frank Miranda was threatened by masked ICE agents that "we're gonna put you in cuffs or you're gonna get the dog" after which he was struck from behind, handcuffed and put in a van in which his legs were kicked out from under him and was told he would be sitting on the floor. He was driven to an ICE facility where he was held for several hours without access to a lawyer before being released without charges or any explanation of his detainment.
  • Debbie Brockman
    WGN Employee
    U.S. Citizen
    Lincoln Square Chicago
    Oct 10, 2025
    U.S. Citizen and WGN Chicago employee Debbie Brockman was forced to the ground, handcuffed and battered in a way that exposed her buttocks while walking to a bus top in a northside neighborhood and was detained for seven hours despite no evidence of any wrongdoing and finally was released without charges.
  • Garcia Venegas
    U.S. Citizen
    Alabama construction site
    Oct 1, 2025
    U.S. citizen Garcia Venegas was racially profiled and detained on two separate occasions by ICE officers despite producing his REAL ID which they smeared as fake. On one occasion they screamed for him to "get on the fucking ground" and kept him in handcuffs for more than an hour and another incident they detained him and two other lawful U.S. citizens for 20-30 minutes.
  • Pertissue Fisher
    Apartment Resident
    U.S. Citizen
    Apartment building in South Shore neighborhood of Chicago
    Sep 30, 2025
    U.S. citizen Pertissue Fisher was handcuffed and detained for hours during an ICE raid on a South Shore apartment building in Chicago of which she noted it was the first time a gun was ever put in her face and said that "they just treated us like we were nothing."
  • Rodrick Johnson
    Blind Army veteran retiree
    U.S. Citizen
    South Shore neighborhood apartment complex
    Sep 30, 2025
    Rodrick Johnson, a U.S. citizen and Army veteran retiree who recently went blind and completely innocent of any wrongdoings, had his door kicked in by federal in the middle of the night during an ICE raid on an apartment building in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago and was detained in a van for hours without a warrant or access to a lawyer.
  • Rafie Shouhed
    Car Wash Owner
    U.S. Citizen
    Los Angeles Car Wash
    Sep 25, 2025
    U.S. citizen Rafie Shouhed was shoved to the ground in an excessive use of force by a masked ICE thug while trying to engage with them on their fascist raid on his car wash. He was further roughed up outside where agents were quick to throw him on the ground and during the process he describes three agents sitting on his back in a very painful way. And the abjectly evil fascists they are, his pleas about them hurting him were met with "You don't F with ICE." He suffered multiple broken ribs, deep bruising, a gruesome injury to his arm and damage to his brain from being slammed headfirst into the ground. He was detained for hours without his wife knowing where he was despite him yelling that he had proof he was a U.S. citizen in his wallet and five of his employees were also detained without looking at his claims of proof he had that his employees were authorized to be on the job. Mr. Shouhed filed a $50M lawsuit over the excessive use of force by the fascist ICE thugs.
  • Javier Ramirez
    U.S. Citizen
    Montebello, CA tow yard
    Aug 19, 2025
    U.S. citizen Javier Ramirez was detained in a Montebello ICE raid and jailed for four days before finally seeing a judge despite repeatedly telling agents he was a citizen.
  • George Retes
    Iraq War veteran
    U.S. Citizen
    Los Angeles ICE Roadblock
    Aug 18, 2025
    U.S. citizen and Iraq War veteran George Retes was driving to his job as a security guard where he was stopped at an ICE roadblock -- and despite not resisting or posing a threat, even backing up when told to -- ICE thugs broke his window, teargassed and pepper sprayed him and forced him to the ground where two of their degenerates put knees to his neck and back. Despite him having a valid ID, he was detained by ICE fascists for three days in an isolation cell and not allowed to shower despite the exposure to toxic chemicals. Additionally, he was denied access to a lawyer or a hearing with a judge and prevented from making phone calls. His family had no contact with him and no idea where he was and he missed his daughter's third birthday.
  • George and Esmeralda Doilez
    U.S. Citizen
    Aug 11, 2025
    U.S. citizens George and Esmeralda Doilez regret voting for Donald Trump after they were racially profiled, detained and searched for 30 minutes by "goons in masks in unmarked vehicles chasing down American citizens just because of the color of their skin." They further ranted on the agents' wearing masks saying, "Who does that? Criminals do that. Robbers and thieves do that. Kidnappers do that."
  • Apr 25, 2025
    U.S. citizen Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez was racially profiled and detained twice on holds by ICE once for 48 hours and another for 24 hours of which he was still detained despite a judge confirming he had a valid official birth certificate
  • Jose Roberto “Beto” Ramirez
    U.S. Citizen
    HyVee grocery store parking lot in Minneapolis, MN
    Apr 25, 2025
    U.S. citizen Jose Roberto “Beto” Ramirez was punched in the face while complying with immigration agents' racist request for facial recognition after which other agents joined in roughing him up further. His sweater was torn, and he suffered bruises on the back of his neck and also wrists from handcuffs being overly tight. He was held outside in the cold for 3 hours with no access to food, water or a toilet.