More Than Numbers: Portraits of U.S. Citizens Detained by Immigration Agents

ProPublica says it has identified more than 500 U.S. citizens detained by immigration agents since Donald Trump returned to office, despite the Department of Homeland Security’s denials that citizens are being detained. Accounts from those affected describe physical force, fear and lasting distress, raising questions about how immigration operations treat citizens and how the government accounts for such incidents.

The article profiles people including a 17-year-old detained after trying to help her mother and autistic younger brother during an encounter with agents, and a Los Angeles worker who said she was held for two days after being caught up in a raid. DHS said the first family was released the same day and denied they had been detained; the mother was treated for a concussion, bruising and nerve damage. The worker was charged with assault, but a judge dismissed the case.