Agents from the US Immigration Service (ICE) arrested an American woman on Wednesday (3/12), after mistaking her for an immigrant. The woman was forcefully removed from the car, handcuffed and detained inside the car.
The case occurred in Key West, Florida, and was recorded by a Miami Herald reporter. According to the journalist’s report, the woman was wearing scrubs and driving a white Toyota Corolla when she was stopped on the highway by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Officers surrounded the car and pulled the woman out of the car. When she was handcuffed and thrown to the ground, she screamed for help and said that she was born in the United States of America: “I am an American citizen, please help me.”
She was placed in handcuffs inside an ICE squad car while officers searched her car. The woman was not released until her documents were found and it was proven that she was indeed an American citizen.
In response to the Miami Herald, an ICE spokesperson claimed the woman refused to cooperate with agents and was therefore temporarily detained. Her identity has not been revealed.
The incident occurred during a “flash campaign” to identify illegal immigrants, which lasted three hours on the highway. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not mention the standards that were adopted to deal with women in the process.
Read also
-
music
The White House uses Sabrina Carpenter’s song in an anti-immigrant video
-
world
The suspect in the shooting near the White House is an immigrant from Afghanistan
-
world
The Pope criticizes the “disrespectful” treatment of immigrants in the United States
-
world
US minister links high meat consumption to “disease brought by immigrants”
The United States tightens rules against immigrants
This case, which was widely spread on social media, comes amid tightening rules against immigrants in the United States. On Tuesday (12/2), Donald Trump’s government suspended all immigration, asylum and green card applications from citizens of 19 countries deemed “high-risk.”
Per USCIS guidance, everything from applying for a green card to work authorization is on hold for citizens with pending asylum claims.
“This filing includes all types of forms and the making of any final decisions (approvals and denials), as well as the performance of any swearing-in ceremonies,” says guidance provided to USCIS offices.
The list – identified in a presidential declaration issued in June – includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.