AP: Mentally ill man said to be a U.S. citizen has been in ICE detention since January
Editorial illustration — Press Pass USAFor nearly a year, immigration authorities have detained and sought to deport a mentally ill man whose mother, lawyers and public records say was born in the United States — not Jamaica, as he himself claims — according to a review by The Associated Press published this week.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has no authority to detain U.S. citizens, the AP notes. In practice, the agency has long done so for hours or days when officers mistake identities or cannot immediately verify citizenship. Immigration lawyers told the AP that a nearly 10-month improper detention would be rare but not unprecedented.
The AP review, based on the man's family, his lawyers and public records, found he has been held since January. The news agency did not publish his name in the material reviewed for this report, and this article does not identify him.
The case lands amid continued scrutiny of ICE detention practices, including how the agency verifies citizenship when a detainee has a mental illness that affects his own account of where he was born. The AP report does not say the agency has conceded the man's citizenship claim.
Sources: The Associated Press (Oct 26–27, 2026), via the Ottumwa Courier and the Winnipeg Free Press.
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