Houston man says he was stopped by ICE despite being a U.S. citizen
Jaewon Jung, Reporter
Houston man says he was stopped by ICE despite being a U.S. citizen
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Houston man says he was stopped by ICE despite being a U.S. citizen
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HOUSTON – A Houston man says he was stopped by ICE agents earlier this month while driving to work — even though he is a U.S. citizen — an encounter he believes was driven by racial profiling.
David Flores, a third-generation U.S. citizen, says the stop happened January 1 as he was driving along Veterans Memorial Drive near Beltway 8 in north Harris County.
Flores says a black SUV began following him before activating its lights. When he pulled over, he says three additional unmarked vehicles arrived, boxing him in. In total, Flores estimates eight ICE agents surrounded his truck.
“I looked at them and I was like, ‘ICE?’” Flores said.
Flores says agents initially spoke to him in Spanish. He told them he speaks English and then informed them he is a U.S. citizen. He says he offered to show his passport and retrieved it from his bag after telling agents what he was doing.
“They started talking to me in Spanish, and I told them, ‘English — I speak English,’” Flores said.
After reviewing his passport, Flores says another agent approached and asked for his Social Security number — a request he refused.
Flores believes he was targeted because of the vehicle he was driving.
“I think they were profiling me because of my truck,” he said. “I drive a pickup, and a lot of Hispanic people use trucks for work.”
Flores is an IT technician and uses the pickup truck daily for his job.
He says the encounter ended abruptly after he took out his phone to record the interaction.
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“As soon as I started recording, they just walked away,” Flores said. “They all left at the same time. No explanation.”
Flores says he was not cited or accused of committing any traffic violation. He also says this was the first time he has ever been stopped by ICE.
The experience, he says, has stayed with him.
“Every time I’m on the road now, I always think they’re gonna pull me over again,” said Flores.
KPRC 2 spoke with immigration attorney Ruby Powers about what rights U.S. citizens have in situations like this.
“They have the right to remain silent,” said Powers. “A US citizen does not have to show proof of citizenship unless they are entering at the border and close to the border, or the internal border. And the situation that we’re discussing at hand was inside the United States, in Houston area. So you don’t have to have proof of your citizenship on you.“
Powers says recent national attention surrounding ICE enforcement has heightened fear — not just among immigrants, but among U.S. citizens as well.
She advises anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation to remain calm, avoid escalating the encounter, and document what happens if possible.
“It’s probably best to remain calm as much as possible to try not to instigate any altercation,” said Powers.
KPRC has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment and we are waiting to hear back.
Refusing a Field Sobriety Test in a DUI Stop & Your Legal Rights
In many states, if you are pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence, law enforcement officers may ask you to complete field sobriety tests in order to help ascertain whether you might be drunk. These tests are typically given by police when they have a strong reason to believe that a driver is intoxicated and want to confirm that this is the case. In most states, they are voluntary, and you have a right to refuse to participate. Indeed, since the evidence obtained from these tests will likely only be used against you in DUI proceedings, many criminal defense lawyers advise against completing them.
What Are Field Sobriety Tests?
Field sobriety tests are a series of voluntary tests that a driver is asked to complete that demonstrate whether a driver is sober or not. The tests are by nature subjective, which means that it is up to the officer to determine whether you passed or not based on your performance or other factors.Probable Cause
A field sobriety test may give a police officer probable cause to arrest a driver for a DUI.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that officers can use three specific tests on drivers. These are the walk and turn, the one leg stand, and the gaze tests. In the walk and turn test, a driver is asked to walk heel to toe in a straight line for nine steps and then turn around and complete the same walk for nine steps back to the original location. In the one leg stand test, the driver must lift one leg six inches off the ground and stand on the other leg for a specified duration of time, often 30 seconds or longer, without losing balance. In the gaze test, the officer will hold an object a foot or so in front of the driver and ask the driver to follow the object with his or her gaze. If the driver is unable to follow the path of the object, this is indicative of drunkenness.
Field sobriety tests are only somewhat reliable. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, they successfully identify drunken drivers in two-thirds to three-fourths of all DUI cases. This means that for a good number of drivers, the field sobriety tests may suggest that they are drunk even if they are not. This is often due to a variety of factors, including nervousness, medications the driver may be using, and pre-existing difficulties with balance.FSTs Are Voluntary, Chemical Tests Less So
Field sobriety tests are voluntary, but an officer will usually then ask a driver to take a chemical test, for which there will be consequences if refused.
Refusing a Field Sobriety Test
Field sobriety tests are voluntary, and completion of the tests is not required under the law. If asked to complete a field sobriety test, a driver may politely decline to do so or may ask to speak with his or her attorney. While the driver will not face legal penalties for declining to participate, it is important to understand that this does not mean that the driver will simply be let go. In most instances, if a driver refuses a field sobriety test, he or she will be asked to undertake a chemical test to determine his or her blood alcohol level, such as a breathalyzer test or a blood test. The driver may even be taken to the police station or jail for a short period of time while these tests are conducted. Unlike field sobriety tests, refusing to perform a breathalyzer test or provide a blood sample can have very serious consequences.
Being stopped by the police while driving
Contents
- Overview
- Breath tests
- Minor motoring offences
- Faults with your vehicle
- When the police can seize your vehicle
Breath tests
The police can stop you at any time and ask you to take a breath test (‘breathalyse’ you) if:
- they think you’ve been drinking
- you’ve committed a traffic offence
- you’ve been involved in a road traffic accident
If you refuse to take a breath test, or fail to supply a sample of breath and do not have a ‘reasonable excuse’, you can be arrested. A reasonable excuse could be a genuine physical or mental condition stopping you from giving a sample.
The breath test gives a result straight away. If it shows you’re not over the drink drive limit, you may be allowed to go.
If you fail the breath test, you’ll be taken to a police station and given a final breath test. If it’s positive, you will be charged.
If the officer thinks you’re under the influence of alcohol or drugs, they can ask you to:
- take a drug test
- do a physical test (a ‘field impairment test’), for example walk in a straight line then turn around and walk back
You can be arrested if you fail the test.
If you fail a breath test you cannot drive your car until you’re sober. You can ask someone else to collect your car for you.
