Deportation of Americans from the United States is the wrongful expulsion, return or extradition of

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ameri ...

to other countries, often after being convicted of a crime. These individuals in

removal proceedings Removal proceedings are administrative proceedings to determine an individual's removability under United States immigration law. Removal proceedings are typically conducted in Immigration Court (the Executive Office for Immigration Review) by ...

include Americans by birth and legal immigrants that were

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

under or admitted as nationals of the United States under the

Child Citizenship Act of 2000 The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) is a United States federal law that amended the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 regarding acquisition of citizenship by children of US citizens and added protections for individuals who have voted in ...

. A U.S. citizen cannot legally be deported, and thus can return to the United States at any time.

Legal background

Some have been placed in

immigration detention Immigration detention is the policy of holding individuals suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorized arrival, as well as those subject to deportation and removal until a decision is made by immigration authorities to grant a vi ...

centers Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

to be deported but were later released. "Recent data suggests that in 2010 well over 4,000 U.S. citizens were detained or deported as aliens". Under , any officer mentioned in may at any time, '' inter alia'', cancel a " notice to appear" against any person who: (1) turns out to be a

national of the United States Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitut ...

; or (2) one that is not removable under the

Immigration and Nationality Act The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act may refer to one of several acts including: * Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 * Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 * Immigration Act of 1990 See also * List of United States immigration legislat ...

(INA). And under , any

Immigration Judge An immigration judge, formerly known as a special inquiry officer, is an employee of the United States Department of Justice who confers U.S. citizenship or nationality upon lawful permanent residents who are statutorily entitled to such benefits. ...

may terminate the

removal proceeding Removal proceedings are administrative proceedings to determine an individual's removability under United States immigration law. Removal proceedings are typically conducted in Immigration Court (the Executive Office for Immigration Review) by ...

of any person who turns out to be a national of the United States or one that is not removable under the INA. A "notice to appear" that contains material false information (and/or omits a material fact) legally makes the entire removal proceeding

void Void may refer to: Science, engineering, and technology * Void (astronomy), the spaces between galaxy filaments that contain no galaxies * Void (composites), a pore that remains unoccupied in a composite material * Void, synonym for vacuum, a s ...

ab initio ''Ab initio'' ( ) is a Latin term meaning "from the beginning" and is derived from the Latin ''ab'' ("from") + ''initio'', ablative singular of ''initium'' ("beginning"). Etymology Circa 1600, from Latin, literally "from the beginning", from abl ...

''.

Statutory, regulatory and judicial relief

A forceful and illegal

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

from the United States entitles the victim to seek judicial relief. The relief may include a

declaratory judgment A declaratory judgment, also called a declaration, is the legal determination of a court that resolves legal uncertainty for the litigants. It is a form of legally binding preventive by which a party involved in an actual or possible legal ma ...

with an

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in ...

issued against the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

or the

Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...

requesting appropriate immigration benefits and/or

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

under the

Federal Tort Claims Act The Federal Tort Claims Act (August 2, 1946, ch.646, Title IV, 28 U.S.C. Part VI, Chapter 171and ) ("FTCA") is a 1946 federal statute that permits private parties to sue the United States in a federal court for most torts committed by perso ...

(FTCA) as well as under ''

Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents ''Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents'', 403 U.S. 388 (1971), was a case in which the US Supreme Court ruled that an implied cause of action existed for an individual whose Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizures had ...

''.

Physically removed Americans from the United States

A number of

have been placed in immigration detention centers to be deported but were later released. Up to one percent of all those detained in immigration detention centers are nationals of the United States according to research by Jacqueline Stevens, a professor of political science at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

. The following is an incomplete list of Americans who have actually experienced deportation from the United States: * Pedro Guzman, born in the State of California, was forcefully removed to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in 2007 but returned several months later by crossing the

Mexico–United States border The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traver ...

. He was finally compensated in 2010 by receiving $350,000 from the government. *Mark Daniel Lyttle, born in the State of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...

, was forcefully removed to Mexico but later returned to the United States from

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

and filed a damages lawsuit in federal court, which he ultimately won. *Andres Robles Gonzalez derived U.S. citizenship through his U.S. citizen father before being forcefully removed to Mexico. He was returned to the United States and filed a damages lawsuit in federal court, which he ultimately won. *Roberto Dominquez was born in

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and No ...

. He was deported to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. The government is unconvinced in this case as it claims that there are two people by the same name, both born during the same month and year. According to the government, both children were born to parents with the same addresses, and that one child was born in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

, the capital of the Dominican Republic. *Esteban Tiznado-Reyna was born in Mexico to a father who had an Arizona birth certificate, which was found unreliable in an immigration court. Tiznado was found not guilty of illegal reentry into the United States in 2008, but

ICE Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...

still deported him despite the verdict. Documents were uncovered that the

USCIS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. It is a successor to the Immigration and Naturalizati ...

withheld in the 1980s, showing his proof of citizenship.

Notes and references

{{reflist

External links

In America, Naturalized Citizens No Longer Have an Assumption of Permanence
(The New Yorker, June 18, 2018).
When ICE Tries to Deport Americans, Who Defends Them?
(The New Yorker, March 21, 2018).
The Largest Mass Deportation in American History
(March 23, 2018).
Is Trump about to deport an American citizen?
(The Week, Jan. 25, 2018).
Some Adoptees Are Undocumented Because Their Parents Forgot To Fill Out A Form. Now Congress Is Taking Action
(The Intercept, May 14, 2019). Deportation from the United States Citizenship of the United States