In all its immigration enforcement activities, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must abide by the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees certain basic rights to everyone in the United States. Yet ICE continues to violate the Constitution in the context of immigration raids, where ICE agents selectively targets predominantly Latino neighborhoods and worksites; enters people’s homes without proper warrants or consent; and coerces frightened individuals to submit to interrogations about their citizenship and immigration status.
The Constitution ensures all people equal protection and fair treatment under the law regardless of their skin color or accent; looking or sounding “foreign” is not enough to justify seizing a person for immigration investigation. Moreover, the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures apply to everyone in this country, regardless of their immigration status.
Through litigation and advocacy, the ACLU is fighting to ensure that, as ICE carries out its mission, it acts in accordance with the Constitution.
In the Matter of María de Jesus Ortiz Mejía and Other Respondents (El Balazo cases)
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