It’s something Utah immigration attorney Kendall Moriarty is seeing more and more among her clients: Officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stopping them not at work or in their homes, but in their cars.
After law enforcement officers pull over an immigrant for a traffic stop, Moriarty said, an ICE officer will pull up to the stop as well. Or, she added, the immigrant will drive away from the traffic stop, only to be stopped again by ICE officers.
But, according to Moriarty, the laws that govern when ICE officers can stop a vehicle are different than for local law enforcement.
This is what attorneys say is happening in Utah, and what immigrants without legal status can do if they are pulled over by ICE.
When can ICE legally stop someone?
To stop a car, Moriarty said ICE officers need reasonable suspicion that someone in the vehicle does not have legal status in the country.
During a regular traffic stop, though, a law enforcement officer can contact ICE officers after pulling someone over, giving them the reasonable suspicion they need to approach the vehicle and question its occupants because of such factors as their skin color, limited English-speaking abilities or accents, she said.
Utah immigration attorney Adam Crayk pointed out that immigrants without legal status in Utah can legally drive using a driving privilege card. However, when police pull someone over, “if they have a driver’s privilege card, then [law enforcement officers] know, presumably, that they don’t have legal status.”
Moriarty said not all law enforcement officers are informing ICE of reasonable suspicion from their traffic stops. There was one notable case in Colorado, where information from a sheriff deputy’s traffic stop was used as reasonable suspicion by ICE — allegedly without the deputy’s knowledge — to stop a University of Utah student. That student, Caroline Dias Goncalves, was released on bond after being detained for 15 days.
Is ICE targeting immigrants with criminal backgrounds?
In response to questions from The Tribune, ICE said that in the organization’s “routine operations,” officers are not just arresting immigrants who commit criminal offenses, but also “other individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws.”
“As part of its routine operations, ICE arrests aliens who commit crimes and other individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” an ICE spokesperson told The Tribune. “All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States, regardless of nationality.”
The agency added that ICE agents can question anybody they believe might be present without legal status.
The organization did not comment on what qualifies as reasonable suspicion for ICE agents to stop vehicles.
What can immigrants do if they are pulled over by law enforcement?
If someone without legal status in the United States is pulled over by a law enforcement officer for a traffic stop, Moriarty said they should provide their driving privilege card and registration, but they do not need to answer officers’ questions about where they were born, their immigration status or how they got into the country.
“They can just state that they will not be answering those questions,” Moriarty said. “They can ask when they are free to go and then calmly leave when allowed to leave.”
What can immigrants do if they are stopped by ICE?
If ICE officers show up to the traffic stop or pull the person over after the stop, Moriarty said the situation gets more complicated. She recommended that concerned immigrants talk to an immigration lawyer now about what their best course of action would be.
If they have immigration documents — such as a green card or work permit — she said they can show those to the officer, but immigrants should not present fake papers or have them in their vehicle.
According to Crayk, immigrants should try not to escalate the situation. “Roll down your window and speak to them,” he said.
Within recent weeks, Crayk said he had a client who he said asked ICE officers for a warrant instead of fully cooperating — and ICE bashed through his window.
The outcome, and possibly the future of the man’s case, could have been different if he had used more discretion Crayk said.
If ICE interactions become hostile or officers see someone as unresponsive, Crayk said they might include that in background information — which judges can later consider when determining if they should release the immigrant while the court considers their case.
If an immigrant is detained and afraid to return to their country of origin, Moriarty said they need to say that to officers repeatedly.
If they hear immigration enforcement officials say “expedited removal” — a process that allows ICE to remove someone from the country without a hearing if they have been in the United States for less than two years — they can tell officers if they have resided in the country for more than two years.
Moriarty and Crayk both stressed that immigrants demand to see an immigration judge.
“The officer has to give them that chance,” Crayk said. “Then due process takes place. We can see if they qualify for a bond. We can see if they’re eligible for other programs.”
If someone who has previously been deported is pulled over by ICE, Crayk said there’s not much they can do to keep from being deported again.
In some cases, he said attorneys can argue they could be persecuted or tortured if sent to their country of origin, “but those are few and far in between.”
“They’re going to get removed, and we can’t do much about that,” he said. “They should just participate and just hurry and get out of here so they don’t stay incarcerated.”
