Immigration Enforcement: Actions Needed to Better Track Cases Involving U.S. Citizenship Investigations
Fast Facts
In recent years, some U.S. citizens have claimed they were mistakenly identified as foreign nationals and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or held by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on immigration charges.
ICE and CBP have policies and procedures for investigating citizenship, but we found some ICE guidance is inconsistent and ICE does not systematically track these encounters. Our analysis of available ICE data indicates arrests, detentions, and removals of some U.S. citizens over the last 5 years.
We made 2 recommendations to ICE to better identify and track cases involving U.S. citizens.
ICE Detention Facility in Louisiana
Highlights
What GAO Found
Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have policies and procedures for investigating citizenship, but some ICE guidance is inconsistent. Specifically, ICE policy requires officers to interview individuals claiming U.S. citizenship in the presence of, or in consultation with, a supervisor, but its training materials direct officers to end questioning if the officer believes the individual and the evidence suggests the individual is a U.S. citizen—without consulting a supervisor. By making its training materials consistent with ICE policy, ICE would have more assurance that all encounters with potential U.S. citizens receive appropriate supervisory review.
Further, while ICE policy requires officers to document citizenship investigations in ICE data systems, it does not require officers to update the citizenship field after identifying evidence that an individual may be a U.S. citizen. As a result, ICE does not know the extent to which its officers are taking enforcement actions against individuals who could be U.S. citizens. By systematically collecting and maintaining electronic data, ICE would have better insight into its officers' enforcement of administrative immigration law.
Available data indicate ICE and CBP took enforcement actions against some U.S. citizens. For example, available ICE data indicate that ICE arrested 674, detained 121, and removed 70 potential U.S. citizens from fiscal year 2015 through the second quarter of fiscal year 2020 (March 2020).
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement Actions Against Potential U.S. Citizens from Fiscal Years 2015 through 2020 Quarter 2 (March 2020)
ICE has policies and procedures for investigating citizenship of individuals for detainers. Detainers are notices from ICE to other law enforcement agencies that articulate probable cause for removability. They also request for such agencies to inform DHS of a removable individual's pending release date and to maintain custody for up to 48 hours to allow DHS to assume custody. ICE officers are, to the extent feasible, to interview individuals in the custody of another law enforcement agency to aid in assessing the individuals' potential citizenship prior to issuing detainers. Available ICE data indicate ICE issued detainers for at least 895 potential U.S. citizens from fiscal year 2015 through the second quarter of 2020 and cancelled about 74 percent of those detainers.
Why GAO Did This Study
In recent years, some U.S. citizens have claimed that they were mistakenly detained or removed by ICE and held by CBP on administrative immigration charges. Such charges are based on civil violations of U.S. immigration law, but these charges are not applicable to U.S. citizens.
GAO was asked to review issues related to U.S. citizens detained by ICE or held by CBP on administrative immigration charges. This report examines (1) the extent to which ICE and CBP have developed and implemented policies and procedures for investigating the potential U.S. citizenship of individuals its officers and agents encounter; (2) ICE and CBP data on U.S. citizens detained by ICE or held by CBP on administrative immigration charges; and (3) the extent to which ICE has developed and implemented policies and procedures for investigating the potential U.S. citizenship of individuals its officers identify for detainers. GAO analyzed DHS documents and record-level enforcement data, and interviewed DHS officials at headquarters and in the field.
Recommendations
GAO recommends that ICE (1) update its training materials to reflect ICE policies regarding potential U.S. citizens, and (2) systematically collect and maintain electronic data of its encounters with individuals for whom there is evidence of potential U.S. citizenship. DHS concurred with the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement | The Director of ICE should update ICE's training materials to reflect ICE policies requiring officers to consult supervisors during encounters with potential U.S. citizens. (Recommendation 1) |
In July 2021, we reported on DHS's detention of U.S. citizens. We found that ICE officer training materials contained guidance for notifying supervisors of encounters with potential U.S. citizens that are inconsistent with ICE policy. Therefore, we recommended that ICE update its training materials to reflect ICE policies requiring officers to consult supervisors during encounters with potential U.S. citizens. ICE agreed with this recommendation. In May 2022, ICE revised its training materials for ERO officer trainings to reflect ICE's policy that officers are to interview all individuals claiming U.S. citizenship or with potential indicia of citizenship in the presence of, or in consultation with, a supervisor. Specifically, ICE's revised training materials direct officers to pause interviews and consult a supervisor if an individual informs the officer or indicia exist that indicates the individual is a potential U.S. citizen. If a supervisor is not available but existing evidence suggests the individual is a U.S. citizen, the guidance directs the officer to later notify a supervisor of the encounter, including that the interview was terminated when available evidence indicated U.S. citizenship. By making its training materials consistent with ICE policy, ICE should have more assurance that all encounters with potential U.S. citizens receive appropriate supervisory review.
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| United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement | The Director of ICE should systematically collect and maintain electronic data on its encounters with individuals for whom there is probative evidence of U.S. citizenship. (Recommendation 2) |
In July 2021, we reported on DHS's detention of U.S. citizens. We found that ICE's policy did not ensure reliable electronic data on the individuals ICE arrested, detained, or removed but for whom ICE later identified probative evidence of U.S. citizenship. This was because the policy did not require ERO officers to update the citizenship field in the individual's electronic record specifically after identifying probative evidence that an individual may be a U.S. citizen. As a result, ICE did not know the extent to which its officers were taking enforcement actions against individuals who could be U.S. citizens. We recommended that ICE systematically collect and maintain electronic data on its encounters with individuals for whom there is probative evidence of U.S. citizenship. ICE agreed with this recommendation. As of February 2025, ICE has clarified its process to systematically collect and maintain this data. ICE also issued a broadcast message to ICE field officials reminding them to ensure they make updates to a person's biographical information in agency databases, as needed, when new evidence becomes available. This broadcast message also cited guidance in updated training materials. The broadcast message was saved on an ICE internal site so officers, including those hired after the broadcast message was sent, can access this information. Taking these steps to ensure ICE officers and agents update citizenship information on the individuals it encounters, including those whom ICE identifies probative evidence of U.S. citizenship, should enable ICE to systematically collect and maintain data on how often it has arrested, detained, and removed individuals for whom it identified probative evidence of U.S. citizenship. Further, such data should also help ensure that CBP has the quality information that it needs to make admissibility decisions regarding individuals who may be U.S. citizens, if CBP encounters them in the future.
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