‘Don’t fight back’: Former sheriff’s advice after ICE illegally detains 170+ U.S. citizens

A report from The Los Angeles Times claimed that more than 170 U.S. citizens have been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and held for hours, despite ICE’s own rules stating agents cannot detain U.S. citizens.

Former King County Sheriff John Urquhart explained what legal rights citizens have in the event of being detained and what steps can be taken to avoid further complications.

“The first thing you need to do is not fight back,” Urquhart told “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “Let them know that you’re a legal U.S. citizen, that you’ve got your papers on you, although it’s a shame we’ve gotten to this point in America where you have to carry papers to keep you from getting arrested. That would be my advice, but now U.S. citizens are going through what undocumented and documented aliens have been going through for quite some time.”

Urquhart claimed that ICE’s actions are based on unconstitutional orders from leadership and will continue unless there is public outcry.

“We are seeing illegal conduct on the part of ICE,” Urquhart said. “You cannot detain someone unless you have probable cause. You can detain them on reasonable suspicion for a small, short amount of time to determine what’s going on. This is based on what they’re being taught. The ICE agents are being told by their leaders that the Constitution doesn’t apply anymore. They’re getting away with it, basically, until people push back enough.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.