Q&A: What are my rights when interacting with immigration agents?
Portland Press Herald - Maine Sunday Telegram • • nation
Key Points:
- Clashes between federal immigration agents and community members are increasing nationwide, with heightened fears in Maine leading some Portland parents to keep children home from school amid protests following an ICE agent's shooting of a woman in Minneapolis.
- Individuals have the right to remain silent when interacting with immigration officers and are not required to discuss their immigration status, though non-citizens are advised to show immigration papers if asked; at the border, answering questions about identity and citizenship is mandatory.
- Immigration agents need a warrant to enter private property or conduct searches, but can detain individuals in public without one; most arrests use administrative warrants that do not permit entry into private homes without consent.
- Agents can detain individuals based on "reasonable suspicion" of illegal presence in the
