ICE encounters with US citizens raise questions about rights during stops

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Videos continue to surface from across the country showing U.S. citizens getting caught up in immigration enforcement operations, detained by ICE agents and asked to provide proof of citizenship.

As the Trump administration works to rapidly hire and train thousands of new ICE recruits to increase deportations, questions are arising about citizens’ rights during encounters with immigration agents.

Criminal defense attorney Arja Shah said ICE agents appear to have more leeway than police officers in traffic stops for instances such as DUIs.

“I think ICE agents generally do have broader administrative authority,” Shah said.

Shah said that during a lawful stop, “you do have to hand over your identification to that officer.”

Citizens have the right to ask police officers more questions first if it is an unlawful stop, Shah said. “You have the right to remain silent and you can ask to consult with an attorney at any point,” she said.

Citizens can also refuse field sobriety tests during police encounters.

Immigration attorney Sheree Wright said ICE’s authority is supposed to be limited to detaining and deporting people living in the U.S. illegally, but added, “ICE has a broader authority in some essence.”

During an exchange with reporters on Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was asked why Americans are being asked for proof of citizenship in Minnesota, and if she advises Americans to carry proof of citizenship.

“In every situation, we are doing targeted enforcement. If we are on a target and doing an operation, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal that we may be asking who they are and why they’re there, and having them validate their identity,” Noem responded.

Video from Florida in December shows agents handcuffing a woman during a traffic stop. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. citizen refused to show ID and was eventually released once agents searched her car to find her driver’s license.

In November, a video showed agents smashing a man’s car window in North Carolina. He was released after proving his citizenship.

Last month, a woman said agents chased her in Louisiana after she told them she was a citizen. It was caught on camera. Agents later said she matched the description of a suspect.

Wright said it is a gray area if agents are targeting someone solely based on an assumption that they may be undocumented. One of her clients in Arizona was pulled over for not stopping at a stop sign, but was released after showing an ID.

“This client is a personal injury client who got pulled over by ICE and they’re Hispanic and they’re U.S. citizens actually,” Wright said.

Wright advised concerned citizens to carry documentation.

“I would say bring your passport,” Wright said.

She added that while citizens have the right not consent to a search of their car or home without a warrant, citizens should verbally assert their citizenship and offer to show a government-issued ID.

On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was also asked what steps the Trump Administration is taking to ensure citizens are not being wrongly arrested by ICE. Leavitt said the agency is “focused on individuals who are unlawfully present in the country.”

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