Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem said: No American citizens have been arrested or detained.

Question

In a statement yesterday, current Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem said:

"There's no American citizens that have been arrested or detained. We focus on those are here illegally. And anything that you would hear or report that would be different than that is simply not true." (MSNBC. 2025)

Despite her comments on the ongoing Trump administration's immigration crackdown, there have been reports of multiple U.S. citizens caught in process. According to The Washington Post earlier this year, over a dozen citizens have been wrongfully detained or deported including children and veterans, since Trump's inauguration (The Washington Post. 2025). 

Without data provided by the government, it's difficult to determine the true scope of wrongful detentions. However, USA Today relays information collected by ProPublica, an investigative journalism organization, that more than 170 similar incidents have occurred "during the first nine months of President Donald Trump's second administration" (USA Today. 2025). Although immigration agents justify such cases under reasonable suspicion or assault of immigration officers, only a "handful of citizens have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors" and almost all detained under suspicion have been Latino (USA Today. 2025). 

Answer 1

Kristi Noem's claim is incorrect. 

According to Propublica.org, over 170 U.S. citizens have been held by immigration agents for either being falsely identified as an undocumented immigrant or for interfering with immigration enforcement. One of these individuals was Leonardo Garcia Venegas, a legal citizen, who was reportedly detained by ICE at his worksite despite having a Real ID on him and telling the officers he was a citizen.

Several other sources cite and support ProPublica's claim. Additionally there are videos being shared on social media (such as TikTok, Instagram, or Youtube) of ICE detaining and mistreating U.S. citizens. For example, the NBC News Youtube channel features a video from July titled, "ICE Agents Handcuff and Detain 71-Year-Old U.S. Citizen".

There is also an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to The Detention and Deportation of American Citizens in the Second Trump Administration.

Answer 2

This claim is false. 

There is a plethora of evidence that proves Kristi Noem wrong. The U.S. government does not document their U.S detainments, so Noem clearly uses the evidence made by the DHS, and claims every other external source false. MSNBC cited ProPublica on this story.  ProPublica documented many incidences of ICE's unconstitutional detainment of U.S. citizens, including a U.S Army veteran. Many Americans were held for more than a day, with no allowed contact to family. The DHS rebutted this claim on their own website, saying "Any claim that there are subprime conditions at ICE detention centers are false. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens. All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members (www.dhs.gov)."  ProPublica has found over 170 accounts of Americans getting detained. 

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/10/01/dhs-debunks-new-york-times-false-reporting-dhs-does-not-deport-us-citizens  

https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will