Federal ICE agents have detained at least 170 US citizens in recent months, according to an analysis published by ProPublica.

ProPublica is a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in New York City.

The government does not record how often where immigration agents detain Americans. ProPublica conducted this investigation and found more than 170 such incidents since the start of the second Trump administration.

The count is almost certainly an undercount, according to the journalists who conducted the investigation, in part because the government doesn't keep track of how often its agents detain citizens.

The cases include people who were detained for days without access to a lawyer and nearly 20 children, two of whom have cancer.

This count of children detained by ICE agents includes four minors who were detained for weeks with their undocumented mother without access to the family's lawyer until a congresswoman intervened.

ProPublica conducted its analysis by examining social media, lawsuits, court records, and local media reports in English and Spanish and interviewed some of the citizens who were arrested and detained by immigration agents.

Highlights of the Report

What was observed in reported arrests of U.S. citizens

Immigration agents have the authority to detain Americans in limited circumstances. Agents can detain people they have reasonable suspicion are in the country illegally.

The analysis found more than 50 Americans detained after agents questioned their citizenship. Nearly all were Latino.

Immigration agents can also arrest citizens who allegedly interfered with or assaulted agents.

ProPublica studied the cases of about 130 Americans, including a dozen elected officials, accused of assaulting or impeding officers.

These cases have often been overlooked by authorities. In nearly 50 cases identified to date, charges have never been filed or the cases have been dismissed. The tally revealed that a few citizens have pleaded guilty, mostly to minor offenses.

How immigration authorities have responded to this report

In response to questions from ProPublica, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said its agents do not racially profile or target Americans.

“We do not arrest U.S. citizens for immigration purposes,” spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin wrote.

A senior immigration official recently acknowledged that agents do consider people’s appearance. “How do they compare to, say, you?” Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino asked a white reporter in Chicago.

The White House told ProPublica that anyone who assaults federal immigration agents will be prosecuted.

“Interfering with and assaulting law enforcement is a crime, and anyone, regardless of immigration status, will be held accountable,” deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson said. “The officers are acting heroically to enforce the law, arrest criminal illegal immigrants, and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism.”

What experts consulted by ProPublica say

When federal agents sweep through communities the way the Supreme Court recently authorized immigration agents in the Los Angeles area, authorizing them to consider race during raids, they inevitably violate the constitutional rights of both citizens and noncitizens, argued David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute.

Bier recently analyzed how the Los Angeles raids have led to racial profiling. “If the government can arrest someone for belonging to a certain demographic group that correlates with a certain category of crime, then they can do so in any context.”

Cody Wofsy, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, put it even more bluntly: “Any one of us could be next.”