The DHS Data Grab Is Putting US Citizens at Risk

As migration raids person swept the country, it’s not conscionable immigrants who person been kidnapped and detained. American citizens person besides been caught up successful the Trump administration’s draconian policies.

Leonardo Garcia Venegas, a US national surviving successful Alabama, was forcibly detained successful May by migration authorities portion astatine a operation worksite. When confronted, Garcia Venegas told authorities that helium was a national and showed them his Alabama REAL ID, his lawyers claim. But that didn’t halt the authorities from tackling Garcia Venegas to the crushed and putting him successful handcuffs, they allege. In a tribunal filing, Garcia Venegas says that helium was kept handcuffed successful the backmost of a car “in the blistery Alabama sun” for implicit an hour.

Less than a period later, Garcia Venegas says, helium was detained again astatine a worksite. While helium wasn’t handcuffed this time, migration authorities ignored the information that Garcia Venegas told them helium was a national and again presented them with a REAL ID, his lawyers claim.

Garcia Venegas is present suing the government. In his tribunal declaration, Garcia Venegas says that an serviceman told him his ID was “fake.”

“I deliberation that if you acceptable the demographic illustration that they're targeting and you are a citizen, [authorities] presumption the 30 minutes oregon 3 hours oregon 3 days that you walk successful custody arsenic conscionable a indispensable outgo of the existent enforcement strategy and the quotas and the bonuses and everything that goes on with that,” says Jared McClain, elder lawyer astatine the Institute for Justice, which is representing Garcia Venegas.

“Allegations that DHS instrumentality enforcement officers prosecute successful “racial profiling” are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE. What makes idiosyncratic a people for migration enforcement is if they are illegally successful the U.S.—NOT their tegument color, race, oregon ethnicity. Under the 4th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, DHS instrumentality enforcement uses “reasonable suspicion” to marque arrests. There are nary “indiscriminate stops” being made. The Supreme Court precocious vindicated america connected this question. DHS enforces national migration instrumentality without fear, favor, oregon prejudice,” adjunct caput for nationalist affairs astatine DHS Tricia McLaughlin tells WIRED.

Cases similar this 1 are unluckily not unique. According to reporting from ProPublica, astatine slightest 170 US citizens person been detained by migration authorities done the archetypal 9 months of 2025. And this could each get overmuch worse: The US authorities is rapidly combining information crossed national agencies that could enactment a batch much people, including US citizens, successful the crosshairs of its harsh migration policies.

WIRED archetypal reported successful April that the Trump medication had been pooling information from crossed the authorities successful its propulsion to surveil and way immigrants, and it’s lone continued from there.