U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are detaining a record number of people as a result of stricter anti-immigration measures under the Trump administration.
But it seems a number of these agents are going rogue and exerting their power through harassment while on their searches.
Comedian Mohanad Elshieky from Portland, Oregon, shared a harrowing encounter with what he assumed was an ICE agent on his way from Spokane, WA to Portland as a passenger on a Greyhound bus.
The Portland comic was detained after the agent claimed Elshieky had "illegal" papers.
He tweeted, in part:
"They walked around before they asked me and few others to step outside and took my documents and interrogated me for around 20 mins then claimed my papers were fake and that I'm 'illegal.'"
The system, unfortunately, often ignores individual cases like Elshieky's, who was granted asylum and had a work permit in the U.S.
With the system arbitrarily implicating many innocent people, these enforcement groups pose a threat to a variety of civil liberties. According to the ACLU, these include:
"They implicate the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, the constitutional guarantee of due process, and the constitutional guarantee of equal protection and freedom from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and national origin."
Elshieky kept his composure during the interrogation.
It gets worse.
The whole experience was unexpected and infuriating.
The trip was foul from the start, and he had some words for Greyhound.
Here are the screenshots of his view.
@MohanadElshieky/Twitter
@MohanadElshieky/Twitter
People pointed out that the uniformed men in the photos were Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, not ICE, which makes sense, given that ICE does not patrol American borders.
Regardless of which agency these men represented, their conduct towards Elshieky was appalling.
Elshieky corroborated his story by providing proof that he was a passenger.
@MohanadElshieky/Twitter
A lot of Elshieky's followers empathized with him for being a victim of harassment.
Unfortunately, as readers made clear from their own experiences, this was no isolated incident.
Immigration officials filed 287,741 new deportations during the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2018 — a record high since 1992, due to stricter enforcement laws and not because of an increase in immigration.
Camille Mackler, director of immigration legal policy at the New York Immigration Coalition told CBS News:
"It's a confirmation of everything we've seen coming. They've been arresting everyone and pushing for more deportations."
Originally from Libya, Elshieky is a revered comic for his unapologetic tackling of politics and racial discrimination in his standup routines.
He was recently named one of Team Coco's Comics to Watch at the New York Comedy Festival and was featured on Lovett or Leave it Podcast, NPR, Buzzfeed, Put Your Hands Together Podcast.
Not only is he an accomplished comic, he has every right to be living and working here.
Welcome to America. Sigh.
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