WASHINGTON — US citizens who are arrested or detained by immigration officers without a warrant or probable cause could sue the officers and the federal government for a mandatory $500,000 in damages under a bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico, according to her office.

The Justice for Citizens Wrongfully Detained by ICE Act (H.R. 10826) was referred to the House Judiciary Committee on October 15, with Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey as an original cosponsor. It would cover arrests and detentions on or after January 20, 2025, and would require courts to award successful plaintiffs $500,000, plus $100,000 for each day of detention after the first day, along with reasonable attorney's fees and appropriate injunctive relief.

The bill would also prevent officers from claiming absolute or qualified immunity, waive the federal government's sovereign immunity for these lawsuits, give citizens five years to file a claim — compared with two years under the Federal Tort Claims Act — and rescind remaining unobligated ICE funding provided under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It is endorsed by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), her office said.

"ICE does not get to trample on your rights and walk away without consequence," Leger Fernández said in her office's statement, citing a ProPublica investigation that documented 506 US citizens detained by immigration agents since the start of the second Trump administration. The Department of Homeland Security disputes that account: a DHS spokesperson told Newsweek that ICE does not detain US citizens and that people confirmed as citizens are released right away. The bill is a proposal at this stage — it has not passed either chamber of Congress.

For diaspora families in the United States, the proposal matters because wrongful-detention claims by citizens have so far faced steep legal barriers, including immunity protections for federal officers, and no law currently guarantees a minimum payout. Supporters say a fixed damages rule would create a clear path to accountability; critics in the administration frame the measure as an attack on immigration enforcement.

Sources: Office of Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (US House of Representatives); Newsweek reporting on H.R. 10826; bill text summary via Quiver Quantitative.