U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is pressing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for answers regarding the arrests of U.S. citizens during federal immigration operations in Illinois and across the country.

In a six-page letter, Durbin criticized a recent statement from Noem in which she falsely claimed that no U.S. citizens have been caught up in the Trump administration's immigration raids.

"In the first nine months of President Trump's immigration crackdown, at least 170 citizens were wrongfully detained. As of mid-October, approximately two dozen U.S. citizens had been held for more than a day without being able to contact anyone, including their lawyers," Durbin wrote. "The numbers continue to grow. My staff has documented the reported detention of at least 40 U.S. citizens in Illinois alone between late August and early November 2025. Since the President ramped up his militarized immigration raids in the Chicagoland area, arrests of U.S. citizens have occurred with increasing frequency."

Durbin went on to cite specific examples of citizens being roughed up and detained during Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago area.

In September, ICE agents federal agents raided a South Shore apartment building in the middle of the night, detaining several people, including U.S. citizens. Two U.S. citizens also were among seven people detained in an ICE raid in September in Elgin.

Durbin pointed to several other examples of citizens caught up in immigration enforcement operations.

As he investigates the arrests of U.S. citizens during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, the senator asked Noem to hand over information on the total number of citizens arrested during immigration operations since President Trump took office, including any audio or body-worn camera footage, and any complaints of wrongful arrests or detentions by Dec. 16. He's also demanding records of how many people have been arrested by immigration agents since the president took office without any charges being filed.