Americans Originally from Mexico Deported Despite Evidence They Are US Citizens Adam Raney - Al Jazeera
go to original April 17, 2014

Observers and analysts confirm that one percent of all detainees at the United States' immigration detention centers are citizens. Al Jazeera investigates these allegations, with evidence showing that there is a large chance it is true. Al Jazeera's Adam Raney reports. (AlJazeeraEnglish)

Have us citizens been deported by their own government?

After investigating this question for our exclusive report on Al Jazeera I can honestly say yes they are. Research by Jacqueline Stevens, a political scientist at Northwestern University, shows that up to one percent of all detainees at immigration detention centers are US citizens.

It's hard to know exactly how many citizens get deported every year. If that one percent figure was constant throughout all deportations – that would mean 4,000 US citizens a year are deported. While that's a high estimate, the fact that it's happening at all demands clear and urgent answers.

Stevens says it's an indicator of the abuses that are rife throughout the deportation machine.

"It's a symptom of the lawlessness of the deportation legal system. If US citizens go into the system with their full civil rights and they're unable to challenge their unlawful deportation that tells us a lot about the more precarious situation of everybody else who may not have the same rights as a citizen."

Read the rest at Al Jazeera

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