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happy feet

(1,262 posts)
Mon Jan 12, 2026, 03:30 PM Yesterday

From a commenter on Washington Post article concerning ICE

I thought some may find this interesting from a commenter on an ICE Washington Post article about the official role of ICE. The commenter replied to me with this "And if you check you will find every word of that corresponds with the current Federal law, regulations and guidelines regarding ICE agents. "

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It is a tragedy that so many Americans & commenters here feel free to express their opinions on this incident but are absolutely clueless about federal laws, law enforcement duties, procedures, and limits of authority with regard to ICE:

ICE agents ARE NOT police officers, deputy sheriffs, or troopers. They are not local/state law enforcement. They are not federal criminal law enforcement. They have an INCREDIBLY limited scope of authority, and that scope of authority exists in detaining and arresting with probable cause and/or SIGNED WARRANTS those investigated and suspected of being in the US illegally.

They cannot just pull anyone over for a traffic violation or because their car is in a place they don't want it. They have NO authority to pull people over for ANYTHING other than immigration enforcement- and even then that involves probable cause, such as a known vehicle of someone they have been tracking, or a warrant. On very rare occasions they have the legal authority to pull someone over if they are threatening the lives of others, but that was not happening in this case. They do not have the training nor the authority to pull ANYONE else over. They cannot arrest legal citizens. They cannot detain legal citizens without probable cause to believe they might not be legal. They have ZERO authority to be attempting to force entry into a vehicle- without even identifying themselves, without a warrant, without exigent circumstances such as a life being directly threatened- that is trying to drive down the street without probable cause in relation to IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT.

23 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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From a commenter on Washington Post article concerning ICE (Original Post) happy feet Yesterday OP
Bravo Johnny2X2X Yesterday #1
Have you been reading that subversive work called the Constitution? usonian Yesterday #2
They may not have the right legally but no one seems willing or able to stop them. Biophilic 23 hrs ago #3
Often local LEOs encourage them. rubbersole 23 hrs ago #4
A post yesterday said the Minnesota state police association had come out publicly as pro ICE Biophilic 23 hrs ago #5
I was under the impression that the release was from The Fraternal Order of Police, Minnesota chapter. OldBaldy1701E 23 hrs ago #8
FOP is a bunch of White-wing Authoritarian Extremists. haele 23 hrs ago #10
Preach on! (n/t) OldBaldy1701E 22 hrs ago #13
You left out phone spammers genxlib 2 hrs ago #22
Bingo! Current practice is Do what you want until somebody stops you catrose 22 hrs ago #15
Rules for ICE maliaSmith 23 hrs ago #6
This was my point also, however I wasn't stating it as elegantly as this person does FakeNoose 23 hrs ago #7
It's those pesky Canadians sneaking k55f5r 4 hrs ago #20
Kick BlueWaveNeverEnd 23 hrs ago #9
They know that Trump will pardon them if they commit crimes. Lonestarblue 22 hrs ago #11
That' all well and good. But the author is ignoring the elephant in the room. progressoid 22 hrs ago #12
MAGAT's are so proud to be so fucking stupid it defies comprehension. NoMoreRepugs 22 hrs ago #14
They don't need the right if no one will enforce the law. Kablooie 22 hrs ago #16
Great post malaise 21 hrs ago #17
This is what I say every time I hear someone Hassler 19 hrs ago #18
The my pillow guy is running for MN gov kbowman 5 hrs ago #19
And ICE warrants are not judicial warrants. dalton99a 4 hrs ago #21
The problem is, whether or not ICE agents legally have the power to beat people up, shoot them, break down their doors Martin68 1 hr ago #23

usonian

(23,648 posts)
2. Have you been reading that subversive work called the Constitution?
Mon Jan 12, 2026, 03:46 PM
Yesterday

As I have stated before.

Laws that don't bring charges when broken, or which are not enforced, are merely recommendations.

It's sadly like the Bible. Many read it and redact the inconvenient parts, like so:

Biophilic

(6,411 posts)
3. They may not have the right legally but no one seems willing or able to stop them.
Mon Jan 12, 2026, 04:44 PM
23 hrs ago

They appear to be able to do anything they want with little or no push back. So why would they care what the law says. Our so called law enforcement people have failed us.

rubbersole

(10,997 posts)
4. Often local LEOs encourage them.
Mon Jan 12, 2026, 05:02 PM
23 hrs ago

Not all, but enough to let this nazi crap continue. It's looking like Minneapolis is the hill on which the feds plan to demonstrate their takeover of "law and order". tsf wants civil war and Minnesota looks good to him.

Biophilic

(6,411 posts)
5. A post yesterday said the Minnesota state police association had come out publicly as pro ICE
Mon Jan 12, 2026, 05:14 PM
23 hrs ago

I don’t know if that is real or not. But how utterly awful if it is true.

OldBaldy1701E

(10,250 posts)
8. I was under the impression that the release was from The Fraternal Order of Police, Minnesota chapter.
Mon Jan 12, 2026, 05:25 PM
23 hrs ago

But, there may be other capitulations going on out there.

haele

(15,099 posts)
10. FOP is a bunch of White-wing Authoritarian Extremists.
Mon Jan 12, 2026, 05:32 PM
23 hrs ago

And they always have been.
They don't care about any law or order unless it allows them to bust someone's head for lip like a 1930's depression era dock worker coming home from work.

genxlib

(6,090 posts)
22. You left out phone spammers
Tue Jan 13, 2026, 01:52 PM
2 hrs ago

They pollute my phone as much as any Nigerian prince always asking for money

maliaSmith

(140 posts)
6. Rules for ICE
Mon Jan 12, 2026, 05:16 PM
23 hrs ago

Obviously, they're breaking all the rules. Who will stop them when they're packing weapons, breaking into cars, houses etc., without warrents. Who will stop their lawless behavior.

FakeNoose

(40,258 posts)
7. This was my point also, however I wasn't stating it as elegantly as this person does
Mon Jan 12, 2026, 05:19 PM
23 hrs ago

ICE has one job ... to find and arrest illegal immigrants. That's it.

Why are ICE-goons crowding into Minnesota where there are almost no illegal immigrants to be found? They need to be down at the southern border, in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. That's their job, to protect the border. NOT strutting around as armed thugs threatening American CITIZENS in the northern, midwestern and eastern states.

k55f5r

(506 posts)
20. It's those pesky Canadians sneaking
Tue Jan 13, 2026, 12:02 PM
4 hrs ago

across the border to do work Americans won't do. Like tapping maple trees, and harvesting poutine.

Lonestarblue

(13,246 posts)
11. They know that Trump will pardon them if they commit crimes.
Mon Jan 12, 2026, 05:44 PM
22 hrs ago

That’s why we need state legal authorities to step up and prosecute some of these terrorists so Trump can’t pardon them for state convictions. Do Minneapolis police jot care that an ICE agent murdered one of the people they’re sworn to protect? A woman who was shot in the head at close range who was was no danger at all to the agent.

progressoid

(52,611 posts)
12. That' all well and good. But the author is ignoring the elephant in the room.
Mon Jan 12, 2026, 05:58 PM
22 hrs ago
No one seems to be enforcing the limits of authority on ICE.

They appear to be a lawless entity. They do as they please without consequence.

Kablooie

(19,045 posts)
16. They don't need the right if no one will enforce the law.
Mon Jan 12, 2026, 06:34 PM
22 hrs ago

They are totally free to harass anyone and violate any law because no one seems to have the authority to arrest or detain them.

Hassler

(4,774 posts)
18. This is what I say every time I hear someone
Mon Jan 12, 2026, 08:36 PM
19 hrs ago

Refer to ICE-holes as "law enforcement." No, they're not.

kbowman

(13 posts)
19. The my pillow guy is running for MN gov
Tue Jan 13, 2026, 11:02 AM
5 hrs ago

This is probably part of the reason MN is in dump's crosshairs. They will do stuff like this to punish a blue state or try to flip it red.

Martin68

(27,109 posts)
23. The problem is, whether or not ICE agents legally have the power to beat people up, shoot them, break down their doors
Tue Jan 13, 2026, 03:03 PM
1 hr ago

and arrest or imprison them without a warrant - the Trump administration's DOJ will back them up every single time. Unless and until we can get enough defections on the Republican side to start impeaching these insane criminals, we have little recourse other than to observe, record, and share what we witness.

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