05/26/2026 – US Citizen Shackled by ICE for 18 Hours After Deputy Called Her Real ID ‘Fake’

Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E73iArm_S40

Sources:

A U.S. citizen — Colorado-born, mother of four — walked up to a checkpoint at the entrance to her apartment complex. Reports the Colorado-born mother of four young children approached an ICE/sheriff checkpoint at the entrance to her Lafayette apartment complex on Wednesday morning, May 20, 2026 — The Lens

She presented her state-issued Louisiana ID and her Social Security card to a sheriff’s deputy. Reports she presented her state-issued Louisiana ID and Social Security card, which she keeps on her at all times, to a Lafayette Sheriff’s Office deputy — The Lens

He decided they were fake. He handed her to ICE. Reports deputies insisted both her ID and Social Security card were fake and called over ICE agents, who also accused her of providing a forged ID — The Lens

She was handcuffed. Shackled at the ankles. Reports she was handcuffed and shackled at the ankles at what appears to be an unlisted USCIS field office in Lafayette before transport — The Lens

Driven to a deportation facility an hour away, while her five-month-old daughter sat at home with a high fever. Reports ICE transported her about an hour away to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, arriving around 6 p.m., while her five-month-old baby was at home spiking a high fever — The Lens

The state of Louisiana’s own digital ID app — LA Wallet — confirms her ID is valid. Reports The Lens entered her name and license number into Louisiana’s official digital credential app, LA Wallet, which returned the same ID with her photo, full name, and date of birth, and identified it as valid — The Lens

Her birth certificate confirms Colorado. Reports The Lens reviewed a copy of her birth certificate, which lists her full name, date of birth, and place of birth in Colorado — The Lens

She was held for eighteen hours. Reports she was released around 2 a.m., approximately 18 hours after her initial encounter with the deputies — The Lens

Hundreds of Americans knew, they are in the back of a vehicle. Documents that ICE has wrongfully detained at least 674 U.S. citizens between 2015 and 2020, with researchers noting the figure is almost certainly an undercount — Cato Institute

Learn more about our grassroots movement.