A New Yorker who was stopped and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents says he was treated like a criminal for simply existing as a Hispanic person in the U.S.
"[ICE] said that they’re looking for criminals, but in reality, they're the criminals," Elzon Lemus, a 23-year-old from Brentwood, told reporters during a Thursday press conference.
Lemus, an electrician, was riding in the passenger seat of a car on his way to work when ICE agents stopped the vehicle in Westbury, New York. The ICE agents reportedly said that Lemus "looks like somebody we are looking for."
He asked "who are you looking for exactly, because it's definitely not me." Much of his interaction with ICE was captured on cellphone video.
After the car was stopped, Lemus says he was surrounded by ICE and Homeland Security Investigations vehicles. The agents then threatened him and demanded his ID.
“This is going to go one of two ways here. I need to see your ID — if you’re not the guy I’m looking for, you’re not the guy I’m looking for. But we need your ID," the ICE agent says in the video.
Lemus said he demanded the agents' name and badge number, but they refused to provide any identifying information, claiming they were "not authorized" to do so.
"I told them that I'm not authorized to give my ID then," Lemus said.
An ICE agent threatened him again.
"If we don’t get your ID we are going to need to figure out another way to ID you and that may not work out well for you," the agent said.
Lemus was then placed in handcuffs for refusing to provide identification to the ICE agents. He said he was hesitant to cooperate because he hadn't committed any crimes, and he knew the federal agents were not local police, NBC 4 reports.
"I didn't want to get my ID because as soon as I saw how they were dressed, I knew they weren't police officers. I didn't commit a crime and wasn't driving," he said.
The ICE agents allegedly left Lemus in cuffs for 20-25 minutes, and confiscated his phone to prevent him from filming them. They eventually found his ID in his pockets.
"It was heartbreaking … it felt like my rights were just out the window," Lemus said.
Lemus' attorney is calling ICE's alleged harassment a breach of his client's federal civil rights.
"This is not America. This is not how we as Americans should have to live. This is not how this young man, as a young Hispanic man going to work at 7:30 in the morning, needs to be greeted at the beginning of his day," attorney Fred Brewington said.
The attorney said ICE can't just "randomly, on a hunch, stop people," calling it "contrary to the Constitution."
New York State Assemblyman Philip Ramo, a former police detective, also weighed in and demanded an investigation. He labelled the incident as racial profiling.
Lemus and his attorney are calling for a full investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. They have not filed a lawsuit at this time.
The incident left Lemus fearful about future potential encounters with federal agents based on nothing more than his ethnicity.
“It felt like I lost all rights when they pulled me over," he said. "I felt like I had nothing anymore, Felt like they stripped my rights, I was honestly shocked."
The Independent has contacted ICE for comment.
