CORREA, 39 COLLEAGUES DEMAND ANSWERS ON THE DETENTIONS OF U.S. CITIZENS BY IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Representative Lou Correa (CA-46), a senior member of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, led 39 colleagues in a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding answers on the detentions and constitutional violations of U.S. citizens by DHS federal agents during immigration enforcement operations.

The letter is in response to reporting that federal immigration agents have detained more than 500 American citizens during President Trump's second term. These arrests are the explicit outcome of President Trump's immigration crackdown, where rogue federal agents have continuously violated Americans' constitutional rights to due process, equal protection, and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. The use of immigration enforcement tactics against U.S. citizens has raised questions about what documentation is needed to prove U.S. citizenship or legal residency, resulting in conflicting answers from DHS officials.

"We write to express concerns over the continued detention of U.S. citizens by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel during immigration enforcement operations and to request clarity regarding documentation necessary to prove citizenship or legal authorization to be present in the United States. Recent reporting has found that over 500 U.S. citizens have been detained by federal immigration authorities since the beginning of this Administration in January 2025, including more than 100 who were questioned about their citizenship. We remain concerned that the Department's actions are violating American citizens' constitutional rights to due process, equal protection, and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, and request transparency regarding the Department's actions," the lawmakers write.

"While public reporting has shed light on these three encounters, the Department has failed to provide information on the number of U.S. citizens who have been detained or arrested as a result of immigration enforcement operations-despite repeated requests from Members of Congress. The U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a report in July 2021 finding that ICE did not know the extent to which its officers were taking enforcement actions against individuals who could be U.S. citizens, recommending the agency improve its data documentation on encounters with potential citizens. In February 2025, ICE clarified its process to collect data on encounters with potential U.S. citizens and issued a broadcast message to field officials to make sure data is accurate. Despite supposedly instituting improvements to its data collection, ICE has not released information on the number of U.S. citizens encountered during immigration enforcement operations," the lawmakers continue. "In addition to denying repeated requests for transparency, the Department has failed to provide consistent information to the public regarding what constitutes proof of U.S. citizenship during an encounter with DHS personnel. In a letter dated April 21, 2026, former Acting Director Lyons wrote that ICE officers "may ask individuals to provide documentation of U.S. citizenship, foreign citizenship, or legal authorization to be present in the United States," but DHS has yet to provide clear guidance on what documentation is considered sufficient".

"All Americans are entitled to due process, equal protection under the law, and freedom from illegal search and seizure. We respectfully request your assistance in ensuring these rights are not denied by providing the aforementioned information," the lawmakers concluded.

Specifically, the lawmakers requested answers to the following questions:

1. How many U.S. citizens have been detained, which includes investigative stops, by DHS since January 20, 2025?

2. Are your agents documenting all detentions of U.S. citizens, to include investigative stops? Where is this information being recorded?

3. How many U.S. citizens have been arrested by DHS since January 20, 2025?

4. What documentation does DHS consider sufficient to verify citizenship status?

5. What training do DHS officers and agents receive regarding how to determine whether an individual is a U.S. citizen?

This letter was signed by Representatives Nanette Barragán, Salud Carbajal, Joaquin Castro, Yvette Clarke, Judy Chu, Joe Courtney, Jim Costa, Jasmine Crockett, Mark DeSaulnier, Diana DeGette, Veronica Escobar, Adriano Espaillat, Sylvia R. Garcia, Vicente Gonzalez, Al Green, Dan Goldman, Pablo Jose Hernandez, Hank Johnson, Julie Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Timothy Kennedy, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Teresa Leger Fernandez, Stephen Lynch, Seth Magaziner, Dave Min, Jerrold Nadler, Richard Neal, Joe Neguse, Scott Peters, Brittany Pettersen, Mary Gay Scanlon, Mark Takano, Bennie Thompson, Dina Titus, Norma Torres, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Maxine Waters.

View the full text of the letter here.