ACLU-D.C. Responds to D.C. Police Chief’s New Order on Cooperation with ICE

The following can be attributed to Monica Hopkins, Executive Director at the ACLU-D.C.

The D.C. Police Chief’s new order inviting collaboration with ICE is dangerous and unnecessary. Immigration enforcement is not the role of local police—and when law enforcement aligns itself with ICE, it fosters fear among D.C. residents, regardless of citizenship status. Our police should serve the people of D.C., not ICE’s deportation machine.

As the federal government scales up Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, including mass deportations, we see how local law enforcement face pressure to participate. Federal courts across the country have found both ICE and local agencies liable for unconstitutional detentions under ICE detainers. Police departments that choose to carry out the federal government’s business risk losing the trust they need to keep communities safe.

Community policing depends on trust—and that trust disappears when people fear that reporting a crime could lead to deportation, imprisonment, or racial profiling.

We urge every D.C. resident to know their rights:

• Ask: “Am I free to leave?” and “Am I under arrest?”
• If police stop you, they might ask if they can search you. You do not have to give the officers permission to conduct a frisk or a search, though in some circumstances they can do so anyway. Telling police that you do not consent to a search is a good way to protect your rights to the greatest extent possible.
• You do not have to answer questions that police ask you, except to give your name and address if asked in some situations.
• If you are arrested, you should tell the police that you are invoking your right to remain silent (say so explicitly) and that you want to speak with a lawyer. From there, you should not answer any other questions, except your name and address if asked.
• If you are detained by ICE or Border Patrol, you have the right to hire a lawyer, but the government does not have to provide one for you. Ask for a list of free or low-cost alternatives.
• It can be dangerous for people to argue about police misconduct in the street, especially for Black and Brown people. Keep yourself safe and file a complaint later.