For much of the last year, Trump administration officials insisted that no Americans were caught in the government’s immigration dragnet.
ProPublica and many others have repeatedly demonstrated that this is not true: Americans have even been beaten, dragged and detained for days by immigration officials.
On Tuesday, House and Senate Democrats are highlighting a particularly troubling aspect of the crackdown: America’s children who were collateral damage in the deportation campaign.
The forum hosted by lawmakers is part of an ongoing congressional investigation. prompted by ProPublica’s report last fall that more than 170 U.S. citizens were detained by immigration officials for some time. This included Americans who were handcuffed, held at gunpoint, or simply prevented from leaving their location.
Last October, more than 20 of those citizens were children, ranging from toddlers to teenagers. A toddler, a preschooler, and a 7-year-old – all citizens – were deported even though their legal parents claimed they wanted to keep the children in the United States.
In response to questions, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Lauren Bis said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement “does NOT deport U.S. citizens or separate families.”
American children detained with their families will share their stories at Tuesday’s forum. This includes two families whose stories were featured in ProPublica investigations.
Fernando Hernández García, 18, who uses an alias to protect the safety of his family in Mexico, speaks on behalf of his 11-year-old sister. Both siblings are citizens.
Last year, the family was traveling to Houston to get emergency care for the girl, who was recovering from brain cancer. Border Patrol agents ignored a letter from the hospital that the family had previously used to get through checkpoints. This time, agents detained the family until they were deported the next day to Mexico. With few other options, the American children left with their parents – except for Hernández García, who was not arrested and stayed to earn money and send medicine home.
The family’s lawyers say they have been unable to access the care they need for their daughter in Mexico and have requested humanitarian parole to return. Customs and Border Protection previously told ProPublica that the family’s account was inaccurate, but declined to provide details.
Learn more
Arnoldo Bazan, 16, also speaks. As ProPublica detailed earlier this year, Bazan was tackled and strangled by immigration officers who were pursuing his undocumented father in Houston.
Bystanders filmed the teen shouting that he was a minor and a U.S. citizen. After the officers knelt on his neck and choked him, they then handcuffed him.
Bazan told ProPublica that when he was in a chokehold position, “I felt like I saw the light.” He said he’s speaking out now — including on Capitol Hill — to help prevent others from experiencing the same thing. “I don’t think anyone is safe anymore.”
DHS said in its statement that Bazan elbowed a police officer in the face while he was being detained, which the teen denies. The agency spokesperson added that all allegations that officers assaulted Bazan “are FALSE.”
It is unclear how many American children have been detained. The government does not reveal how many Americans are detainedeven briefly, during immigration checks.
Former immigration officials told ProPublica that it was rare to encounter, much less detain, American children for any length of time. Although officials did not recall a specific policy banning it, they said previous administrations simply did not prioritize arresting families during immigration enforcement inside the country. (A ProPublica investigation released Monday found that during his second term, President Donald Trump mothers deported of American children four times the rate Biden did.)
In a report shared with ProPublicaminority staff of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform compiled 128 cases of children — a mix of citizens and noncitizens — who were injured, left unsupervised or otherwise endangered by enforcement operations carried out by Department of Homeland Security agents.
The study found that citizen children caught in immigration operations were also exposed to chemical agentswere placed under duress or required medical attention, and some were held at gunpoint, left unattended when officers arrested their parents, or were present when officers broke car windows Or hit their vehicles.
“The impact of all of these practices on children — the physical harm but also the trauma — is truly horrific,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told ProPublica.
Several other teenagers and mothers of U.S. citizens detained by immigration agents will testify at the forum.
Anabel Romero, an Idaho mother, recalled how she was arrested with three of her children during a multi-agency raid on an Idaho racetrack. THE stated objective One part of the raid concerned illegal gambling, but it ended with more than 100 people detained by ICE.
Police pointed guns at SueHey Tello, 14, of Romero, as well as her 8- and 6-year-old children. Tello said they dragged her out of the truck and eventually tied her up. leaving bruises and marks.
Asked about the raid and the agents’ behavior, DHS responded: “ICE does not place restraints or handcuffs on children. » (Romero and Tello don’t know which agency attached them.)
Tello told ProPublica she was petrified and especially worried about her younger siblings. “My little sister is crying, my little brother is scared,” Tello remembers. “I don’t know what to do. [I was] looking for a familiar face.
Romero noted that the Trump administration has often said its immigration program keeps children safe by going after predators and criminals. “They say they’re doing this to protect the children,” Romero recalled. “But they hurt my children.”
