FACT BRIEFIs every person arrested by ICE undocumented?
No.
There are examples of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mistakenly arresting people who are U.S. citizens, or arresting people who had legal status until their visas were unexpectedly revoked, according to a federal database.
In April, Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a U.S. citizen, was mistakenly arrested by ICE.
While ICE does not publicly report the legal status of people it arrests and an ICE database that tracks alternatives to ICE detention said legal stage data is unavailable, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that hundreds of students have had their visas revoked in recent weeks, with many detained afterwards.
ICE has broad authority to arrest noncitizens who are in the country without permission after issuing an administrative warrant signed by an immigration enforcement supervisor, or without a warrant if an officer has “reason to believe” they are in violation of the law and likely to escape.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
The Nevada Independent partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Sources
- U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement Online Detainee Locator System
- Associated Press A US citizen was held for pickup by ICE even after proving he was born in the country
- U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Statistics
- U.S Department of State Secretary of State Marco Rubio Remarks to the Press
- Congress.gov Immigration Arrests in the Interior of the United States: A Primer
It’s up to all of us to spread the truth.
Nevada lawmakers will be in session until June, and the fate of the bills they are debating will hinge in large part on the quality of the facts they’re working with.
Do free school lunches increase food waste? Do red flag laws reduce suicide rates? Does universal pre-K boost the economy?
We want to bring independent, rigorous fact checks to inform the public and policymakers on these crucial questions. We’re doing it through briefs that clearly answer a question with a yes or no in 150 words or less.
The Nevada Independent is always on the lookout for claims that could use a fact check. But we could use your eyes and ears too. If you're on social media or consuming news and come across a statement that raises questions for you — let us know.
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