Do you remember the thrill of senior lunches in high school? Being allowed to leave school for food off-campus is an exciting component of being an upperclassmen in high school, but a recent off-campus lunch break turned into a nightmare for a senior in Oregon, who was picked up by ICE and detained for several hours.
A high school senior in the farming town of McMinnville, Oregon was driving his father’s car on his lunch break last week when he was pulled over by ICE. He told them he was a U.S. citizen but they ignored his statement and arrested him. They also broke his car window. The senior, Christian Jimenez, who is a 17-year-old minor, was taken to the Portland ICE facility and detained for about seven hours. He now faces charges of “interference or obstruction of investigation” as ICE is accusing him of preventing the movement of their ICE vehicle.
According to Unidos Bridging Community, an immigrant rights organization in Oregon, there were four U.S. citizens arrested by ICE in Portland last week. So far this year more than 170 U.S. citizens have been arrested by ICE, the majority of whom were citizens of Latino descent, who were questioned about their citizenship status during raids or routine stops. Others were detained during large-scale immigration operations despite presenting proof of citizenship.
These detainments of U.S. citizens are not only extremely frustrating, but are also violations of Constitutional law, which protects U.S. citizens from unreasonable seizure, meaning that a citizen cannot be arrested or detained without probable cause or a warrant.
If you are detained by immigration authorities, remember:
- Ask whether you are free to leave or are being detained.
- Request a lawyer immediately.
- Document badge numbers, statements, and anything you’re told.
- Contact legal counsel and trusted family as soon as possible.
