A man who was brought to the United States at the age of five, and who was given Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protected status in 2013, was arrested in the middle of the night by Federal agents and taken to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, where he awaits deportation proceedings.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not have a warrant, and were not given permission to enter the residence, but they kept on beating on the door until a family member eventually produced their suspect.
Francisco Rodriguez Dominguez was born in Michoacan, Mexico, but that has not been his home since he was a young boy. The longtime Portland resident who is active in his church and coordinates a food pantry program for the poor made one mistake: he picked up a DUI, which got him on ICE’s radar.
It is vital that you seek competent legal counsel immediately if you are not a U.S. citizen, and you are charged with any crime.
Everyone in the United States enjoys the constitutional right to remain silent when being interrogated by authorities. We also have the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures – which means that ICE or any other law enforcement agency cannot enter your home without a warrant, unless you consent, or exigent circumstances exist, such as “hot pursuit” of a fleeing felon who just committed a crime. Even those who know their rights are often intimidated into “waiving” them by officers employing aggressive tactics.
Stories like this are likely to make immigrants even less likely to cooperate with federal or local authorities. They may prefer instead to decline to provide their residential addresses to official agencies (such as courts, the department of licensing, etcetera), and use a P.O. box instead, for example.[1]
[1] Immigrants with DACA or any other status, or who are applying for status, are required to keep the immigration court apprised of their whereabouts.
