Democrats Launch Bicameral Probe into Detentions of U.S. Citizens

(UNITED STATES) Congressional Democrats opened a sweeping investigation into reports that federal agents detained U.S. citizens during immigration enforcement raids in 2025, citing constitutional concerns, use of force, and a pattern of racial profiling. The bicameral inquiry, launched in October 2025 by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA), focuses on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Lawmakers have demanded detailed records by November 3, 2025, including a full list of every U.S. citizen held by any DHS component for more than 24 hours since January 20, 2025. Representative Garcia said hearings will take place across the country, starting in Los Angeles, to collect testimony and examine alleged misconduct.

Why the Inquiry Began

The inquiry follows mounting reports from civil rights lawyers and families of detentions that, they say, never should have happened. According to ProPublica’s review:

• More than 170 U.S. citizens were detained by immigration agents in the first nine months of President Trump’s second term.
• Nearly 130 citizens were arrested for allegedly assaulting or impeding officers—charges that are often dropped.
• More than 50 citizens were held after agents questioned their citizenship.

Lawmakers say these numbers likely understate the scope because new cases surface daily. Their document request to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem seeks case files, body camera footage, and policy directives that might explain how agents decided whom to stop, question, and arrest.

Scope of the Inquiry and Early Findings

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee and the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations are focusing on alleged constitutional violations, such as:

• Detentions without access to counsel
• Excessive force during operations
• Racial profiling or discrimination in stops and arrests

Reported cases span major cities where ICE and CBP activity has surged, including Chicago, Portland, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles. Among those detained, ProPublica’s count includes:

• Nearly 20 children, including two with cancer
• At least three pregnant women
• Approximately a dozen elected officials

Several specific cases have drawn sharp scrutiny:

• U.S. Army veteran George Retes (Iraq veteran) was held by ICE for three days without a phone call or a lawyer. His family only found him after a TikTok video showed him being taken at his workplace. Agents allegedly broke his car window, pepper sprayed him, and threw him to the ground despite a visible veteran decal.
• In downtown Los Angeles, Andrea Velez, a U.S. citizen, spent two days in ICE custody and said she was denied water for 24 hours.
• More than 20 citizens reported being held over a day without access to lawyers or relatives.

Questions about racial bias are central to the probe. Examples cited include:

• In Chicago, Maria Greeley, an Illinois-born U.S. citizen carrying a valid passport, said ICE detained her for hours because agents claimed she didn’t “look like” someone with the last name Greeley due to her being Latina.
• In Alabama, construction worker Leonardo Garcia Venegas was detained twice; agents allegedly dismissed his REAL ID—a credential issued only to those legally present in the United States—as fake.

The DHS has rejected accusations of racial profiling or targeting Americans. “We don’t arrest US citizens for immigration enforcement,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said. Still, the department has defended agents in disputed incidents, including one in which officers grabbed Senator Alex Padilla, pulled him to the ground, and handcuffed him after he tried to question Secretary Noem about detained citizens.

Documented Abuses and Constitutional Questions

ProPublica’s reporting, echoed by letters from more than 50 members of Congress, outlines circumstances that lawmakers say may violate basic rights, including due process and equal protection.

Key findings and concerns:

• In nearly 50 instances identified to date, charges against citizens were never filed or were later dismissed.
• People were injured, jailed, or kept away from their families for hours or days despite charges being dropped.
• In dismissed cases, agents reportedly pointed guns at, pepper sprayed, or punched citizens who were filming operations.

Notable accounts:

• A 79-year-old car wash owner—who had recent heart surgery and broken ribs—was tackled and held for 12 hours without medical attention.
• Another woman was detained for more than two days without regular contact with the outside world.

These accounts will be scrutinized at hearings and are expected to influence debates over training, supervision, and accountability inside DHS agencies.

Supreme Court Ruling as a Flashpoint

A recent Supreme Court opinion by Justice Brett Kavanaugh has become a flashpoint. The ruling effectively allowed federal officers to consider race during immigration sweeps, prompting a forceful dissent by the court’s three liberal justices.

The dissent warned citizens could be “grabbed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed simply because of their looks, their accents, and the fact they make a living by doing manual labor.”

Legal scholars say the ruling could widen the gap between constitutional guarantees and on-the-ground practices in immigration enforcement.

Local reaction has been sharp. Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles welcomed the congressional investigation, saying both non-criminal undocumented immigrants and citizens have been unfairly targeted and “denied their rights and subjected to fear and uncertainty without legal protection.”

Analysis by VisaVerge.com suggests growing public concern is pushing city and state leaders to seek clearer limits on joint operations involving local police, especially in large metro areas.

Legal Stakes, Enforcement Strategy, and Human Impact

The Justice Department twice instructed law enforcement this year to elevate cases of obstruction or assault of immigration officers. Yet many related cases involving citizens have not held up:

• Judges dismissed charges or prosecutors declined to move forward when evidence did not support claims made during fast-moving raids.

As Democrats press DHS for data on arrests, injuries, and internal reviews, one central question arises: were these detentions the product of a strategic shift or a breakdown in basic safeguards?

Experts’ perspectives:

• Scott Shuchart, a senior official across multiple administrations, describes a shift away from targeted arrests based on intelligence toward broad sweeps of places where undocumented people might be present. He called the current approach “unintelligent” use of resources that increases the odds of citizen detentions.
• David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, argued that when officers run sweeps as permitted by the Supreme Court, violations of rights—of citizens and noncitizens—become nearly unavoidable.

Political and structural constraints:

• Democrats in the House minority lack subpoena power, but can request records and schedule public hearings to spotlight patterns of harm.
• The administration has cut the office that reviews abuse claims against agents.
• The legal path to sue federal officers is narrower than for local police, creating additional barriers to accountability.

Records Requested from DHS

Democrats’ request to Secretary Noem asks for extensive materials, including:

1. A complete list of U.S. citizens detained by CBP, ICE, or any DHS component for more than 24 hours since January 20, 2025.
2. Records on the use of force, including pepper spray, restraints, and broken windows during arrests.
3. Policies governing race, accent, and occupation as factors in stops or questioning.
4. Communications between DHS and the Department of Justice tied to charging decisions after raids.
5. Body camera footage, detention logs, and medical records for citizens held in federal custody.

Community Consequences and Broader Risks

While DHS maintains that its agents do not racially profile or arrest U.S. citizens for immigration enforcement, stories from affected families suggest gaps between policy and practice.

Reported local effects:

• In Chicago and Los Angeles, parents say children now fear workers in uniforms.
• In Portland and Washington D.C., local officials report a rise in complaints from citizens who say they were stopped or questioned based on appearance or language.

The stakes extend beyond the news cycle. If broad sweeps become standard practice, experts warn:

• Errors will disproportionately affect Latinos, mixed‑status families, and workers at large job sites.
• Real costs include lost wages, trauma, legal bills, and missed medical care.

The veteran Retes’s family relied on a viral video as their only lifeline—an unreliable safeguard in a nation of more than 330 million people.

What Democrats Want and What’s Next

Congressional Democrats say transparency is the first step. They seek:

• The names of every U.S. citizen detained
• The reasons listed for each stop
• The duration of custody
• The outcome of any criminal charge
• Information on whether agents received guidance after the Supreme Court’s ruling
• How supervisors reviewed arrests that resulted in dismissed charges

The political context matters: President Trump’s second term has brought a more aggressive posture to immigration enforcement, while the prior administration emphasized narrower targeting. The clash is now playing out in Congress, with Democrats pushing for accountability and Republicans likely to defend agents who say they face growing risks during operations.

The investigation’s early goal is straightforward: identify how many Americans were swept up, why they were held, and what DHS did after red flags appeared. For those detained—children with cancer, pregnant women, elected officials, and a veteran with a visible decal—answers are urgent.

As hearings begin in Los Angeles, lawmakers plan to hear from families, medical providers, local leaders, and legal advocates who say the detentions have left lasting scars. VisaVerge.com notes that broad public hearings often surface hidden records and can drive agencies to release data they previously withheld.

Whether that happens here depends on DHS’s response by November 3, 2025, and whether Congress can maintain pressure through the fall. For now, the crucial unanswered item remains: a verified count from DHS of every U.S. citizen caught in the gears of immigration enforcement this year, and a clear explanation of how it happened in the United States 🇺🇸.

For families seeking official information about DHS components and their responsibilities, see the Department of Homeland Security: https://www.dhs.gov.