ICE Wants To Deport 12-Year-Old Boy Immigration Lawyer Says Is Citizen

LeadershipLeadership StrategiesICE Wants To Deport 12-Year-Old Boy Immigration Lawyer Says Is CitizenByStuart Anderson,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Stuart Anderson writes about immigration, business and globalization.Follow AuthorApr 27, 2026, 09:42am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.A person is detained as residents of Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood confront U.S. Border Patrol and other law enforcement agents at a gas station after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents allegedly detained an unidentified man riding in his car, in Chicago, Illinois, on October 4, 2025. ICE wants to deport a 12-year-old boy, despite his attorney's evidence that he is a U.S. citizen. (Photo by OCTAVIO JONES/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty ImagesImmigration and Customs Enforcement wants to deport a 12-year-old boy, even though his attorney has provided evidence that the boy is a U.S. citizen. That evidence includes an affidavit from the boy’s U.S. citizen father. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services refuses to accept the evidence without the father submitting DNA evidence, which the father has been unwilling to do, according to the boy’s attorney. That has prevented the child from obtaining a Certificate of Citizenship. The boy faces deportation without a resolution in his favor.For critics, the case presents another example of ICE prioritizing the deportation of children and other individuals who do not present a criminal or other threat. In April 2026, ICE arrested and detained an 85-year-old widow after her stepson, a federal official embroiled in an inheritance dispute with the woman, contacted ICE agents, leading to her detention and deportation. The boy’s case also sheds light on the situations that could arise should the Supreme Court rule in favor of the Trump administration’s executive order en...