U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently claimed that no United States citizens have been caught up in Trump administration immigration raids.
But that is false, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said in a six-page letter to Noem that demands answers about the department’s detention of U.S. citizens and cites Chicago Tribune reporting.
“The disturbing reality is that many American citizens have been caught in the Trump Administration’s indiscriminate and violent immigration enforcement dragnet across the country,” Durbin wrote. “Masked, armed agents have aggressively arrested U.S. citizens; pushed them into unmarked vehicles; tazed, punched, and fired pepper balls at them; and, in some cases, wrongly detained them in immigration detention facilities for days, even weeks.”
Durbin’s letter cites a Tribune report on María Greeley, a Latina who had just finished working a double shift at the Beach Bar on Ohio Street in October when she said she was surrounded by three federal agents who grabbed her, forced her hands behind her back and zip-tied her.
Greeley, who was born at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and is adopted, carries a copy of her passport just in case she runs into federal agents.
During the encounter, Greeley said they told her she “doesn’t look like” a Greeley.
“They said this isn’t real, they kept telling me I’m lying, I’m a liar,” Greeley recalled. “I told them to look in the rest of my wallet, I have my credit cards, my insurance.”
Durbin’s letter also cites a Tribune report on Dayanne Figueroa, a woman who was on her way to get coffee before heading to work when she encountered heavily armed, masked federal agents making arrests on a residential street.
As Figueroa tried to drive through the 1600 block of West Hubbard Street in the West Town neighborhood on Oct. 10, an unmarked vehicle driven by federal agents collided with Figueroa’s car as it tried to speed away from a hostile crowd.
Seconds after the crash, agents abruptly stopped their vehicle and got out with weapons in hand pointing at Figueroa, a U.S citizen. Agents then forcibly opened her door and pulled her out of the vehicle by her legs without identifying themselves, presenting a warrant or informing her that she was under arrest.
As bystanders yelled, “You hit her! We have it on video!” agents ignored the crowd and forced Figueroa into a red minivan and drove away.
Durbin disputed Noem’s contention about U.S. citizens citing press reports and his own office, which he said has documented “the reported detention of at least 40 U.S. citizens in Illinois alone between late August and early November 2025.”
He criticized the administration for its approach to immigration enforcement and for telling lies.
“Despite the fact that federal immigration agents are unlawfully sweeping up citizens in enforcement actions, and even though most Americans think President Trump’s immigration crackdown has gone ‘too far,’ the Trump Administration is doubling down on its made-for social media methods,” Durbin wrote. “In response to criticism, (DHS) representatives often have deflected, or issued defensive, misleading, or demonstrably false statements.”
Durbin closed his letter by requesting records showing the total number of U.S. citizens arrested during immigration enforcement activity since Jan. 20, related body-camera footage, complaints of wrongful arrests, and documents related to their training and records keeping practices, among other issues. He has requested a response by Dec. 16.
In a statement to the Tribune, a DHS spokeswoman Trisha McLaughlin scoffed at the letter.
“The entire premise of Senator Durbin’s letter is FALSE,” the McLaughlin statement read. “We have said it a million times: ICE does NOT arrest or deport U.S. citizens. Sen. Durbin is once again shamefully peddling a false narrative, attempting to demonize our DHS law enforcement agents, who are already facing a 1,153% increase in assaults against them. If a U.S. citizen is arrested, it is because they have obstructed or assaulted law enforcement. Allegations that DHS law enforcement engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE. What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S.—NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity. Under the fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution, DHS law enforcement uses ‘reasonable suspicion’ to make arrests. The Supreme Court recently vindicated us on this question whether Durbin likes it or not.”
“Secretary Noem’s message to the rioters is clear: you will not stop us or slow us down. ICE and CBP will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. DHS responds to official correspondence through official channels.”
