Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., sent a letter on Friday to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, accusing her federal immigration agents of targeting and racially profiling U.S. citizens during what he referred to as “citizen checks.”
Durbin’s letter, which he shared with Newsweek, challenged claims that Noem and U.S. Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino made. They suggested U.S. citizens must prove their identity to avoid being detained during immigration enforcement operations.
“To state the obvious, we are not a ‘papers, please’ country,” Durbin wrote. “American citizens generally do not have ‘immigration documents.’ Requiring them to carry such documents to avoid being stopped or questioned by federal immigration agents is absurd and unconstitutional. There is no law that requires U.S. citizens to carry identification to avoid arbitrary arrest and detention.”
Durbin’s criticism comes amid an ongoing national discussion about immigration enforcement tactics under President Donald Trump. Noem has been defending agents’ authority to question people encountered during targeted operations. Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Jan. 15, Noem stated that during “targeted enforcement” actions, agents may question individuals near a suspect about their identity and ask them to confirm who they are.
Her comments attracted renewed attention after several incidents involving U.S. citizens caught in immigration operations. People asked Noem whether Americans should carry proof of citizenship in case agents stop them, and she defended identity checks as part of targeted enforcement.
Durbin described the issue as a constitutional limit for a federal agency operating in the U.S. He raised concerns about agents questioning or detaining people who are not targets of an operation. In his letter, Durbin said he was “outraged” by what he saw as a pattern of stops that targeted Americans based on race or ethnicity.
“Papers, Please”: DHS Confirms Americans May Be Forced to Prove Citizenship
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has effectively confirmed that U.S. citizens can now be stopped, questioned, and required to prove who they are simply for being near an ICE operation, even if they’re not… pic.twitter.com/64cJvOw6Aj
— P a u l ◉ (@SkylineReport) January 15, 2026
The letter was sent as Congress members and advocacy groups kept an eye on enforcement activity in the Midwest. This scrutiny follows a fatal shooting in Minneapolis involving an ICE officer. That incident has sparked protests and legal action over federal operations in Minnesota, raising questions about how agents decide whom to stop and what proof, if any, people must show when questioned.
The administration has not announced any changes to DHS policy regarding citizen checks. Noem has stated that enforcement actions remain lawful and targeted, claiming that agents may detain people when they suspect a violation of the law.
Durbin’s letter also follows prior criticism of DHS operations in Illinois. In December, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Durbin pressed Noem for details about U.S. citizens involved in immigration enforcement, referring to it as an enforcement “dragnet.”
It’s a matter that comes to how far officers can go in questioning and detaining people near an enforcement action, and how courts balance government interests against protections and freedom from unreasonable seizures. Durbin argues that DHS cannot use a lack of documents as a reason for detention.
