This is true. Traditionally, they would be arrested, given an initial detention hearing and if determined to be a non-citizen with no asylum claim or other legal reason to be in the country, they are then given the option of voluntarily departing or requesting a deportation hearing. If they voluntarily depart, its isn't a federal offense to reenter the country. If they force a deportation hearing and are ultimately deported, it is a federal offense for them to return to the US and IIRC it's a 5 year max. The alien would have counsel at every stage. Counsel would communicate with family to let them know what was happening and where there family member was being detained. Trump is bypassing every constitutional protection for the accused. Really fucked up shit. For those who think this will all work out, it won't. We arrested a man without a warrant signed by a neutral magistrate, imprisoned him, denied him counsel and sent him to a gulag in a county other than his country of origin. Now the Justice Department is admitting they did all of those things but is claiming they cant do anything about its and will leave him there to rot. They've basically said that even if he were a US citizen it wouldn't change the fact that they are now powerless to retrieve him or have him released.