Can You Sue ICE for Wrongful Arrest? Legal Grounds and Realistic Outcomes
Yes, you can sue ICE for wrongful arrest through constitutional violation claims (Bivens actions) or tort claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), but the 2022 Supreme Court decision in Egbert v. Boule severely restricted Bivens lawsuits against immigration enforcement agents, and qualified immunity protections make winning these cases extremely difficult. As of January 2026, ICE faces over 350 tort claims nationwide seeking $55.5 billion in damages, yet the agency has paid less than $1 million in settlements as of 2023, illustrating both the frequency of wrongful arrest allegations and the legal barriers victims face.
According to ICE’s fiscal reports analyzed in October 2025, the agency is defending hundreds of claims from U.S. citizens wrongfully arrested despite being legally present, green card holders detained based on mistaken identity, and immigrants subjected to excessive force during enforcement operations. High-profile cases like George Retes, an Iraq War veteran and U.S. citizen held for three days after ICE broke his car window at a roadblock, and the 79-year-old car wash owner Rafie Ollah Shouhed demonstrate that even egregious misconduct rarely results in accountability or substantial damages.
Understanding Your Options After Wrongful ICE Arrest Could Determine If You Recover Compensation
This affects you if ICE wrongfully arrested you despite being a U.S. citizen, you were detained based on mistaken identity or outdated immigration records, ICE used excessive force during your arrest causing injuries, you were held for extended periods without a bond hearing or due process, ICE agents racially profiled you or violated your Fourth Amendment rights, or you lost your job, suffered emotional distress, or incurred medical expenses due to wrongful detention. With ICE making over 1,000 arrests daily in January 2026 and hundreds of citizens wrongfully detained since 2003, knowing whether you can sue and what obstacles you’ll face is critical to deciding whether to pursue legal action.
Understanding lawsuit options against ICE matters because the Supreme Court has dramatically narrowed pathways to hold federal agents accountable, most cases settle for far less than claimed damages, qualified immunity protects individual agents unless they violated “clearly established” constitutional rights, sovereign immunity shields the federal government from many claims, and strict filing deadlines (often two years) mean delayed action can eliminate your legal recourse entirely. You need realistic expectations about what suing ICE involves and whether your specific circumstances justify the cost and time required.
What Qualifies as Wrongful Arrest by ICE?
When ICE Arrests Become Legally “Wrongful”
Wrongful arrest by ICE occurs when agents detain you without legal authority or violate constitutional protections during the arrest process. Mistaken identity cases—where ICE arrests the wrong person entirely—represent the strongest wrongful arrest claims, as seen in the October 2025 ACLU Colorado lawsuit where Refugio Ramirez Ovando, a lawful permanent resident, was arrested by ICE and held for over 90 days even though officers later admitted he wasn’t the person they were looking for.
Detention of U.S. citizens for immigration violations is automatically wrongful since citizens cannot violate immigration law and face no deportation risk. Between 2003 and 2019, hundreds of citizens were wrongfully detained by ICE, with some held for months or even years before their citizenship was verified. Leonardo Garcia Venegas, a U.S. citizen in Alabama, was violently arrested in 2025 because ICE agents incorrectly believed his REAL ID was fake.
Arrests without proper legal authority occur when ICE lacks probable cause—specific facts suggesting you violated immigration law and are a flight risk under 8 U.S.C. § 1357(a). Federal law requires ICE to have probable cause that you’re “in the United States in violation of any [immigration] law” AND “likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained” before conducting warrantless arrests. The October 2025 ACLU Colorado lawsuit alleges ICE is conducting indiscriminate arrests based solely on skin color, accent, or perceived nationality to meet arbitrary quotas, violating this requirement.
Racial profiling and discriminatory enforcement can make otherwise lawful arrests unconstitutional if based primarily on race or ethnicity. While the September 2025 Supreme Court ruling allowed ICE to consider appearance and language as factors in reasonable suspicion, arrests based solely on how you look or speak violate the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable seizures.
Fourth Amendment and Due Process Violations
Fourth Amendment violations during arrest include searches without warrants or probable cause, forced entry into homes with only administrative warrants (Form I-200 doesn’t authorize home entry—only judicial warrants do), and prolonged detention without justification. Excessive force during arrest gives rise to Fourth Amendment claims when agents use more force than necessary, as alleged in cases where ICE agents threw people to the ground, broke car windows, brandished weapons unnecessarily, or caused injuries requiring medical treatment.
Due process violations under the Fifth Amendment occur when ICE holds detainees for extended periods without bond hearings, deports people without allowing them to appear before an immigration judge, or uses coercion to obtain waivers of rights. The July 2025 lawsuit filed by the National Immigrant Justice Center challenges ICE’s practice of arresting people at immigration courthouses after judges dismiss their cases, calling it a scheme that “intentionally stripped people of basic due process rights.”
Arrests based on expired or invalid immigration detainers are wrongful when ICE relies on outdated databases or inaccurate records. The February 2020 Gonzalez v. ICE class action resulted in a permanent injunction barring ICE from relying on a database of inaccurate, incomplete records to issue detainers, and entitled class members to monetary compensation for unlawful detention.
Legal Grounds to Sue ICE for Wrongful Arrest
Bivens Claims for Constitutional Violations
Bivens actions allow you to sue individual federal officers—not the agency itself—for violating your constitutional rights. Named after the 1971 Supreme Court case Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, these lawsuits provide a damages remedy when federal agents violate the Constitution. You sue the individual ICE agent in their personal capacity, though the government often indemnifies (pays on behalf of) its officers in settlements.
The Supreme Court has recognized only three categories where Bivens claims are valid: Fourth Amendment violations by law enforcement (unreasonable searches and seizures, including wrongful arrests), Fifth Amendment due process violations (employment discrimination), and Eighth Amendment violations (inadequate medical care in detention). Immigrants have successfully brought Bivens claims for excessive force during ICE arrests causing injuries, unlawful detention of lawful permanent residents despite proof of status, and denial of timely medical care for serious medical conditions in ICE custody.
However, the June 2022 Supreme Court decision in Egbert v. Boule severely restricted Bivens claims against immigration enforcement agents. The Court refused to extend Bivens to Fourth Amendment claims against Border Patrol agents engaged in immigration enforcement, holding that “national security concerns” and the existence of administrative grievance procedures foreclose Bivens relief. Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent warned that “absent intervention by Congress, CBP agents are now absolutely immunized from liability in any Bivens action for damages, no matter how egregious the misconduct or resultant injury.”
The Egbert decision means Bivens claims against ICE agents face an uphill battle because courts must determine if your case presents a “new context” different from the three recognized Bivens categories, and whether “special factors” counsel against allowing the lawsuit—with immigration enforcement and national security almost always qualifying as special factors. Post-Egbert, lower courts have applied the decision broadly to shield ICE agents from accountability.
Federal Tort Claims Act Lawsuits
The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. § 2671 et seq., allows you to sue the U.S. government itself—not individual agents—for torts (wrongful acts) committed by federal employees acting within the scope of employment. FTCA claims cover negligence (careless actions causing harm), intentional torts like false imprisonment (wrongful detention without legal authority), assault and battery (excessive force), and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The FTCA process requires filing an administrative claim with the Department of Homeland Security before you can file a lawsuit. You must submit your claim within two years of the wrongful act, and DHS has six months to investigate and respond. If they deny your claim or don’t respond within six months, you can then file a lawsuit in federal district court. This administrative exhaustion requirement is mandatory—if you skip it, courts will dismiss your lawsuit.
FTCA claims have significant exceptions that limit what you can sue for. The discretionary function exception protects government decisions involving policy judgment, though the July 2025 Supreme Court decision in Martin v. United States suggested this exception shouldn’t shield obviously illegal actions. The sovereign immunity doctrine means you can only sue the government if it has waived immunity, which FTCA does for certain torts but not others.
The July 2025 American Constitution Society analysis warns that the Eleventh Circuit (covering Alabama, Florida, and Georgia) has interpreted the discretionary function exception so broadly that ICE agents could “dodge accountability for a broad range of reprehensible, dangerous, and illegal actions simply because a victim couldn’t cite a specific statute, policy, or regulation banning their actions.”
Claims Against Individual Agents vs. The Agency
You cannot sue ICE as an agency under Bivens—only individual officers. The Supreme Court has held that Bivens exists to deter constitutional violations by individual officers, not federal agencies. However, you can sue the U.S. government itself (which includes ICE) under the FTCA for torts.
When suing individual ICE agents, they will almost certainly raise qualified immunity—a legal doctrine that shields government officials from liability unless they violated a “clearly established” constitutional right. This means even if an agent acted wrongfully, they’re protected unless a prior court ruling established that their specific conduct was unconstitutional under similar circumstances. Qualified immunity makes many Bivens cases difficult or impossible to win even when misconduct occurred.
The Process of Suing ICE
Initial Steps: Documentation and Evidence
Immediately document everything about your wrongful arrest. Write down dates, times, locations, names of ICE agents (ask for badge numbers), what agents said and did, witnesses present, and injuries or property damage. Photograph or video record injuries, torn clothing, damaged property, or arrest conditions if safe to do so.
Gather all evidence including arrest records and detention paperwork from ICE, medical records if you were injured or denied care, employment records showing lost wages, witness statements from people who observed the arrest, communications with ICE including emails or letters, proof of citizenship or lawful status (birth certificate, passport, green card), and receipts for expenses caused by wrongful detention (attorney fees, travel costs, medical bills).
For FTCA claims, you must file an administrative claim with DHS within two years of the wrongful act. Download Standard Form 95 (Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death) from the DHS website, describe what happened in detail, specify the damages you seek with supporting documentation, and mail it to the appropriate DHS component (usually ICE’s Office of Chief Counsel).
Statutes of limitations vary but are typically two years for FTCA claims and constitutional violations under most circuits. Missing these deadlines bars your claim regardless of merit. One U.S. citizen detained for over three years discovered the statute of limitations had expired, eliminating his ability to sue for wrongful detention.
Filing the Lawsuit and What to Expect
If DHS denies your administrative claim or doesn’t respond within six months, you can file a lawsuit in federal district court. Your attorney will file a complaint detailing the wrongful arrest, constitutional or tort violations, damages suffered, and legal basis for holding the government or individual agents liable.
The government will immediately file motions to dismiss arguing qualified immunity for individual agents, sovereign immunity or discretionary function exception for FTCA claims, failure to exhaust administrative remedies, missed statute of limitations deadlines, or that no constitutional violation occurred. Many cases end at this stage if judges grant these motions.
If your case survives dismissal, discovery begins where both sides exchange documents, take depositions of witnesses and agents, and gather evidence. The government may offer settlement to avoid trial costs and publicity. Most cases that aren’t dismissed settle rather than go to trial because trials are expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain for both sides.
If no settlement is reached, your case proceeds to trial where you must prove by a preponderance of evidence (more likely than not) that ICE agents violated your constitutional rights or committed torts, the violations were clearly established (for Bivens claims), agents acted within scope of employment (for FTCA), and you suffered damages directly caused by the wrongful conduct.
Timeline for resolution typically takes two to five years from filing to resolution, with complex cases taking longer. The emotional and financial toll of litigation is substantial—legal fees can reach tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars even if you win.
What Damages You Can Recover and Realistic Outcomes
Types of Damages Available
Compensatory damages for economic losses include lost wages and income from time in detention or inability to work, medical expenses for injuries or psychological treatment, job loss or career damage from criminal records or detention, and out-of-pocket costs like attorney fees in some cases.
Non-economic compensatory damages cover emotional distress, anxiety, depression, PTSD from wrongful detention, pain and suffering from injuries or harsh detention conditions, reputational harm from false accusations or public arrest, and loss of enjoyment of life from separation from family or inability to engage in normal activities.
Punitive damages are rarely awarded in federal lawsuits and typically only available in FTCA claims for egregious misconduct showing reckless disregard for your rights. Bivens claims generally don’t allow punitive damages against individual federal agents.
Challenges and Realistic Settlement Amounts
ICE’s own fiscal reports show the agency faces over 350 tort claims nationwide seeking $55.5 billion in damages, yet as of 2023 had paid out less than $1 million in settlements. This stark disparity illustrates how rare substantial recoveries are.
Recent settlements in ICE wrongful arrest cases show modest amounts. The December 2025 fact-check analysis documented a $150,000 settlement in one case. The Gonzalez v. ICE class action resulted in monetary damages for class members but individual amounts were typically modest. Most settlements resolve for five to six figures, not the millions claimed in complaints.
Challenges limiting recovery include qualified immunity frequently protecting individual agents even when they acted wrongfully, sovereign immunity and discretionary function exception limiting FTCA claims, difficulty proving constitutional violations with the high burden of showing clearly established law, low success rates with most cases dismissed before trial or settling for minimal amounts, and the Supreme Court’s restriction of Bivens claims post-Egbert making it nearly impossible to hold immigration enforcement agents accountable.
What You Must Know About Suing ICE
Recent Supreme Court Decisions That Make Suing ICE Harder
The June 2022 Egbert v. Boule decision represents the most significant barrier. The Supreme Court held that Bivens claims against Border Patrol agents for Fourth Amendment violations involving immigration enforcement are barred due to national security concerns. The Court emphasized that recognizing Bivens causes of action is “a disfavored judicial activity” and courts should defer to Congress to create damages remedies.
Justice Thomas’s majority opinion established that any case involving immigration enforcement near borders presents “special factors” counseling against Bivens relief. Justice Sotomayor’s dissent condemned this as categorical immunity, warning it shields agents from accountability “no matter how egregious the misconduct.”
Lower courts have applied Egbert broadly to ICE agents beyond Border Patrol. The July 2025 American Constitution Society analysis noted that ICE agents are increasingly “dodging accountability for a broad range of reprehensible, dangerous, and illegal actions” by invoking national security and immigration policy concerns.
The 2017 Ziglar v. Abbasi decision created the restrictive two-step test for Bivens claims requiring courts to determine if the case presents a “new context” and whether “special factors” counsel hesitation. Since Ziglar, the Supreme Court has declined to recognize new Bivens claims 11 consecutive times over 40 years.
Common Mistakes That Hurt Your Case
Waiting too long to file is the most fatal mistake. Statute of limitations deadlines—typically two years—are strictly enforced. Courts will dismiss otherwise valid claims if you file even one day late.
Failing to file the required administrative claim with DHS before filing an FTCA lawsuit results in automatic dismissal. You cannot skip this step regardless of circumstances.
Not documenting the arrest thoroughly means you’ll lack evidence to prove your claims. Without witness statements, photographs, medical records, or written accounts contemporaneous to the arrest, you’re relying on memory against government records months or years later.
Signing documents without understanding them during or after arrest can waive your rights. Voluntary departure forms, stipulated removal orders, or releases can eliminate your ability to challenge the detention or file lawsuits. Never sign anything without speaking to an attorney first.
Not gathering evidence immediately after release means witnesses forget details, records get destroyed or lost, and critical facts become unclear. The longer you wait, the harder proving your case becomes.
Trying to sue without an experienced civil rights attorney familiar with Bivens claims and FTCA procedures is nearly impossible. These cases involve complex federal law, strict procedural requirements, and sophisticated government defenses that require specialized expertise.
The Difference Between Criminal and Civil Proceedings
ICE wrongful arrest doesn’t result in criminal charges against agents. No prosecutor will file criminal charges against ICE officers for wrongful arrests except in extreme cases. The Minneapolis January 2026 controversy over whether state prosecutors can charge the ICE agent who killed Renee Nicole Good illustrates how rare criminal accountability is.
Civil lawsuits seek monetary damages, not criminal prosecution. Your goal is compensation for harm suffered, not putting agents in jail. This distinction matters because the burden of proof in civil cases (preponderance of evidence—more likely than not) is lower than criminal cases (beyond a reasonable doubt), but you still face significant legal barriers through qualified and sovereign immunity.
What “wrongful arrest” means differs in civil versus criminal contexts. In criminal law, wrongful arrest might lead to evidence suppression or case dismissal. In civil law, wrongful arrest is the basis for damages claims for constitutional violations or torts like false imprisonment.
What to Do If ICE Wrongfully Arrested You
Immediate Steps After Wrongful Arrest
Document everything immediately once released. Write down every detail you remember while it’s fresh: dates, times, agents’ names and badge numbers, what was said, what happened, witnesses present, injuries sustained, and property damaged or seized.
Seek medical attention for injuries and get documentation. Medical records are critical evidence of excessive force claims. Even if injuries seem minor, have them evaluated and documented by healthcare providers.
Gather all evidence before it’s lost including requesting copies of all arrest and detention records from ICE, obtaining medical records if treated during or after detention, collecting employment records showing lost wages or termination, getting witness contact information and statements, preserving communications with ICE (emails, letters, forms), and photographing injuries, torn clothing, or damaged property.
Consult with a civil rights attorney immediately. Many offer free initial consultations to evaluate your case. Do not wait—statute of limitations deadlines start running from the date of arrest, and evidence preservation becomes critical immediately.
How to Find the Right Attorney
Look for attorneys experienced in civil rights claims against federal agents, immigration law, Bivens claims specifically, and who have sued ICE or DHS before. General personal injury lawyers typically lack the specialized knowledge these cases require.
Ask potential attorneys during consultation about their experience with Bivens claims and FTCA cases, success rate and settlement amounts in similar cases, realistic assessment of your case’s strengths and weaknesses, estimated costs and fee structure (many work on contingency for strong cases), timeline for resolution, and whether they recommend pursuing litigation or alternative remedies.
Legal aid organizations that handle ICE misconduct cases include the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), National Immigration Law Center, Immigrant Defense Project, National Immigrant Justice Center, and local legal aid societies with immigration practice areas. These organizations may take strong cases pro bono or provide referrals.
What to Expect Realistically
These cases are difficult and expensive. Most result in settlements, not trials, and settlements typically range from five to six figures, not millions. Qualified immunity frequently protects individual agents even when they clearly acted wrongfully.
The process takes years, not months. From filing to resolution, expect two to five years of litigation with depositions, motions, discovery disputes, and court hearings requiring your time and emotional energy.
You need strong evidence of clear constitutional violations. Cases with video evidence, witness testimony, medical records of injuries, and obvious factual errors (like detaining a U.S. citizen for months) have the best chance. Cases relying on conflicting accounts without corroboration rarely succeed.
Alternative options may be more appropriate than lawsuits. Filing complaints with DHS Office of Inspector General, reporting to congressional representatives, working with advocacy organizations to publicize ICE misconduct, and pursuing immigration remedies (like cancellation of removal or asylum) may achieve better results than expensive litigation with low success probability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you sue ICE if they arrested you by mistake?
Yes, mistaken identity arrests give you strong grounds for FTCA false imprisonment claims and potentially Bivens constitutional violation claims. If ICE arrested the wrong person entirely, as in the October 2025 case of Refugio Ramirez Ovando held for 90 days, you can sue for damages. However, you must file an administrative claim with DHS within two years before filing a lawsuit, and the government will argue qualified immunity if suing individual agents.
What is a Bivens claim against ICE agents?
A Bivens claim is a lawsuit for damages directly against individual federal officers—not the agency—for violating your constitutional rights. Named after the 1971 Supreme Court case, Bivens allows you to sue ICE agents for Fourth Amendment violations (wrongful arrest, excessive force), Fifth Amendment due process violations, or Eighth Amendment violations (inadequate medical care in detention). However, the June 2022 Egbert v. Boule Supreme Court decision severely limited Bivens claims against immigration enforcement agents, making these lawsuits extremely difficult to win.
How much can you get from suing ICE for wrongful arrest?
Realistic settlements typically range from five to six figures, not millions. ICE faces over 350 tort claims seeking $55.5 billion but has paid less than $1 million in settlements as of 2023. Recent cases show settlements around $150,000 for strong claims. Damages can include lost wages, medical expenses, emotional distress, and pain and suffering, but qualified immunity, sovereign immunity, and the difficulty proving constitutional violations limit recovery amounts significantly.
Can ICE agents be held personally liable for wrongful arrest?
Theoretically yes through Bivens claims, but qualified immunity almost always protects individual agents unless they violated “clearly established” constitutional rights. The 2022 Egbert v. Boule decision further shields immigration enforcement agents by holding that national security concerns foreclose Bivens relief against Border Patrol and ICE agents. In practice, ICE agents face personal liability only in the most egregious cases with clear constitutional violations, and even then settlements are typically paid by the government through indemnification.
What is the Federal Tort Claims Act and how does it apply to ICE?
The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. § 2671 et seq., allows you to sue the U.S. government itself for torts committed by federal employees including ICE agents. FTCA covers negligence, false imprisonment (wrongful detention), assault and battery (excessive force), and intentional infliction of emotional distress. You must file an administrative claim with DHS within two years before filing a lawsuit. The government has six months to respond. If denied or no response, you can then sue in federal court. However, sovereign immunity exceptions and the discretionary function exception limit what claims succeed.
How long do you have to sue ICE for wrongful detention?
Typically two years from the date of wrongful arrest or detention under both FTCA and most circuits’ statutes of limitations for constitutional claims. This deadline is strictly enforced—courts will dismiss cases filed even one day late regardless of merit. For FTCA claims, you must file an administrative claim with DHS within this two-year window, then wait for DHS’s response before filing a lawsuit. One U.S. citizen detained for over three years discovered his statute of limitations had expired, eliminating his ability to sue. Do not delay—consult an attorney immediately after wrongful arrest.
Has anyone won a lawsuit against ICE for wrongful arrest?
Yes, but successful cases are relatively rare and settlements are typically modest. The Gonzalez v. ICE class action (February 2020) resulted in a permanent injunction against ICE and monetary damages for class members unlawfully detained based on faulty immigration detainers. Some individual cases have settled, including George Retes (Iraq War veteran) who filed a tort claim after being wrongfully detained for three days, though settlement amounts are often confidential. ICE’s own fiscal reports show less than $1 million paid in settlements as of 2023 despite facing over 350 claims seeking $55.5 billion, illustrating both that victories occur but substantial damages are extremely rare.
Last Updated: January 13, 2026 — We keep this current with the latest legal developments.
Pro Tip: Document Everything Immediately
The single most important action after wrongful ICE arrest is documenting everything while details are fresh. Write down agent names, badge numbers, exact words spoken, witnesses present, and take photos of injuries or property damage immediately. Evidence disappears quickly—witnesses move, memories fade, and records get lost. Strong documentation is the difference between cases that settle and cases that get dismissed. Don’t wait to start gathering evidence; begin the moment you’re released.
Disclaimer: This article provides general information about suing ICE for wrongful arrest and wrongful arrest claims against federal immigration enforcement for educational purposes only. Legal outcomes vary significantly based on specific circumstances, jurisdiction, the strength of your evidence, and complex federal immunity doctrines. The information presented does not constitute legal advice, and AllAboutLawyer.com does not provide legal services or representation. Civil rights lawsuits against federal agencies, Bivens claims, and Federal Tort Claims Act cases are highly technical areas requiring experienced legal expertise. If you were wrongfully arrested by ICE, consult a qualified civil rights attorney or immigration attorney immediately for evaluation of your specific case and guidance on preserving evidence and meeting critical filing deadlines. Do not rely solely on this information when making legal decisions affecting your rights to compensation or accountability.
Related Resources: For more information about wrongful arrest claims and civil rights violations, explore our articles on,
Can ICE Agents Shoot Someone Trying to Run Them Over?
No, ICE Cannot Legally Arrest or Deport US Citizens, Here’s What Federal Law Actually Says
ICE Arrest Powers Beyond Immigration, When Federal Agents Can Detain Citizens
Your Rights When ICE Stops You, Citizens, Green Card Holders, and Undocumented
For FTCA filing procedures, visit the Department of Homeland Security website at dhs.gov. To find civil rights attorneys experienced in immigration cases, contact the American Civil Liberties Union (aclu.org), National Immigration Law Center (nilc.org), or the National Immigrant Justice Center (immigrantjustice.org).
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About the Author
Sarah Klein, JD, is a licensed attorney and legal content strategist with over 12 years of experience across civil, criminal, family, and regulatory law. At All About Lawyer, she covers a wide range of legal topics — from high-profile lawsuits and courtroom stories to state traffic laws and everyday legal questions — all with a focus on accuracy, clarity, and public understanding.
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