Green Card Holders, Even Naturalized U.S. Citizens, Face New Peril in International Travel
By Najla Zaidi | 08 Apr, 2025

The Trump administration’s flailing deportation drive produces travel anxieties for even law abiding naturalized Americans and legal residents.

The pace of deportations has averaged about 40,000 per month since Trump took office, below the 48,970 migrants deported by the Biden administration in November 2024.  More importantly, the current pace of deportations is only about 1/7th the pace required to meet the 15 to 20 million deportations solemnly promised by Trump the presidential candidate, assuming the deportations are completed by the end of his 4-year term.

ICE offers few figures on how many deportees are actually dangerous criminals — the class Trump cited to justify his anti-migrant campaign.  But estimates have suggested that far fewer than 10% of deportees have even traffic infractions.  The ICE’s desperation to meet Trump’s irrational goals is apparent in the extent to which is expanded its deportation targeting to naturalized citizens and legal residents with no criminal records.

Citizens targeted for deportation include a Virginia man whose vehicle was surrounded by armed ICE agents after he was misidentified, a South Texas family with a 10-year-old US citizen daughter, and a jobhunting Chicago man with a social-security card who was herded into an ICE van in a raid on migrant workers.

Customs may seek access to data on mobile phones and laptops as part of the Trump administration's effort to ferret out online activities that may be used as the basis for deportation.

Of course ICE’s desperate deportation drive makes the situation even more precarious for legal residents with valid green cards.  In late February, a 23-year-old nursing student with a green card was deported while returning to Los Angeles International airport after attending her mother’s funeral in Laos.  

In mid-March, federal authorities detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian protest leader at Columbia University, accusing him of supporting Hamas.  Targeting people for political beliefs is a clear violation of the First Amendment right of free speech, a right that applies to legal residents as well as citizens.  

Days later customs agents at Boston’s Logan International airport detained Fabian Schmidt, a lawful permanent resident since 2008, who was returning to New Hampshire from a trip to his native Germany.  Schmidt’s mother told reporters that he had been violently interrogated and pressured to sign an I-407 document renouncing his green-card status. 

Schmidt is being detained in Rhode Island, awaiting a June immigration court hearing. DHS officials have disputed accounts of his mistreatment.  What’s their justification for detaining Schmidt?  A 2015 misdemeanor marijuana charge that was later dismissed, and a DUI conviction.  

Recent detentions also include a Seattle Filipino woman who has lived in the United States over 30 years, two New York campus activists, and in recent weeks, 238 migrants sent to a Salvadorian mega-prison without legal due process. 

The Trump policy of “enhanced vetting” at US borders and entry points has left permanent residents and even naturalized U.S. citizens anxious about international travel plans for spring break and summer vacation.  

The pledge to begin the “largest mass deportation operation” in American history on Day 1 of his second term helped Trump get elected.   He had expressed his intention to deport 15 to 20 million, more than the usual estimate of 11 million undocumented migrants.  This aggressive goal has prompted ICE to push denaturalization efforts, targeting naturalized citizens for deportation for any fraud committed during their naturalization process or having engaged in criminal activity after becoming U.S. citizens.  

During his first term Trump had initiated “Operation Janus” to identify individuals who had obtained citizenship “improperly”.   That campaign had targeted people with minor errors or misrepresentation on immigration paperwork. The policy broke with past practices in which only the most egregious and intentional misrepresentation could lead to denaturalization. Recent actions against permanent residents have cast a cloud of fear over many of the nation’s estimated 12.8 million lawful permanent residents.  This far-reaching policy has also affected U.S. citizens, especially those who have been naturalized within the last 10 years. 

New York immigration attorney Pouyan Darian is now telling clients to consider holding off on traveling because, “You are subjecting yourself to scrutiny when you attempt to reenter the United States.” 

“People are terrified, completely freaked out,” says Los Angeles immigration attorney Joshua Goldstein.  “I’m even getting questions from U. S. citizens asking, ‘Can I travel?” 

To explain this anxiety Goldstein cites Vice President JD Vance’s March 13 Fox News appearance in which he was asked about Khalil’s arrest.  Disregarding the clear language and legal effect of naturalization, Vance declared that permanent immigrants do not “have an indefinite right to be in the United States of America.” 

“If the secretary of state and the president decide this person shouldn’t be in America, and they have no legal right to stay here, it’s as simple as that,” said Vance.  

“If they are making permanent residents and U.S. citizens with immigrant backgrounds fearful, that’s quite different than actually going after people with criminal records,” noted Goldstein. 

 “Directionally, this is where [the Trump Administration] wanted to go the whole time,” noted David J. Bier, Cato’s director of immigration studies states.  “Now they are much clearer about their intent.  [T]hey are crystal clear that they don’t see a distinction between one noncitizen category and another.”

Since the start of Trump’s second term naturalized citizens and legal immigrants have been pulled aside at airports for additional questioning and searches.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has the authority to physically inspect electronic devices, including a review of its contents.  No one is required to provide their passwords to CBP but refusal to do so may result in device seizure or denial of entry. 

U.S. border officials have, “wide ranging discretion,” to deny entry,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).  “US citizens and lawful green-card holders cannot be denied entry to the country for refusing to hand over their devices, but a refusal could lead to a longer custom’s process.”  A person’s social media, text chats and other history on their devices is subject to search. 

There are two types of searches of an electronic device according to Tom McBrien, a lawyer with Electronic Privacy Information Center, an internet nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. First, a manual search is looking through an unlocked phone, which courts see as equivalent to going through one’s luggage.  Second, an advanced or forensic search is where an external device is hooked up to a phone or laptop to scan the contents. Some districts require a warrant for a forensic search while others do not. 

If a traveler refuses to unlock his phone, authorities can seize it and will need a warrant to open it. However, they can be denied entry to the U.S. for refusing to unlock their phone. If a forensic search shows a deactivated social media account, officials may ask for it to be reactivated. They can also ask for a recently deleted email account to be reactivated as well.  Reports suggest that ICE is compiling data from YouTube videos, X posts, protest photos and student-led political groups.  

“The best thing to do is be honest and also be aware of the laws,” advises New Jersey immigration attorney Michael Wildes.  

If one must travel outside the US some precautions are in order.  Before returning disable the Face ID or Touch ID features on your devices so it takes more effort for an officer to open it up, advises McBrien.  It’s even better to turn off your phone because a full passcode is needed to turn the device back on. 

One should also delete anything on devices that could be misconstrued as inflammatory or hostile toward the US before going through customs.  It’s also prudent for green-card holders and naturalized citizens to travel with 1) an unexpired passport; 2) a visa or other entry documentation valid for the day of proposed entry; 3) identity documentation such as a driver’s license or other government-issued ID. 

In addition, travelers are warned not to sign any unfamiliar documents at airports. 

Avoid traveling if you’re in deportation proceedings and consult a lawyer before any international trip. If a traveler’s device gets confiscated, ask for the officers’ names, badge numbers and which agency they work for, advises the ACLU.  It also advises calling the agency to request a receipt for the confiscated personal item.  One can also ask for an interpreter if they need language assistance. It’s always wise to alert a trusted friend if things go awry.

Green-card holders and recently naturalized citizens may want to keep in mind that the current President of the United States may be looking to ICE to honor his campaign pledge to deport at least 15 million people who have been “poisoning the blood” of our country.  Those words carry an unmistakeable note of hostility toward anyone that might be considered an “outsider”.