‘Thank God I’m white’: Madison Williams used race, wealth to try to avoid DUI arrest
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — When police questioned her on suspicion of drunken driving in June 2022, Madison Williams gave a number of reasons why she shouldn’t be arrested: her race, wealth and connections.
“Let’s end this right now,” Williams tells Officer Singh of the Bakersfield Police Department, according to a transcript .
“How?” Singh asks.
“Number one, I’m white, so let’s stop,” Williams says.Watch 17 News, After Sunrise and more local news free on your smart TV. Click to learn more about KGET+
“That has nothing to do with it,” Singh responds.
During their interaction, recorded by body-worn camera, Williams offers Singh $15,000, tells him she’s “really good friends with all the judges” and threatens to sue.
Singh didn’t budge.
A breath test measured Williams blood-alcohol content at 0.19% — more than twice the legal limit.
She refuses further tests, and Singh tells her he’ll get a warrant to draw her blood. Then he’s booking her.
“Now you’re just trying to have power, that’s ridiculous,” Williams says. “That’s all right. Thank God I’m white. That’s hilarious.”
Williams, 29, was booked into jail and charged with two counts of misdemeanor DUI.
Three months later, she’d find herself in considerably more trouble.
On Sept. 14, 2022, her Mercedes-Benz C300 ran a stop sign and crashed into a home at Old River Road and Taft Highway, catching fire.
The occupants of the home were injured but managed to escape.Madison Williams’ sentencing postponed, judge says she’s eligible for probation
Williams was again arrested for driving under the influence, and a jury in October convicted her on felony DUI charges.
She faces anywhere from probation to 16 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled Dec. 12.
‘I own like half of Bakersfield’
Prosecutor William Mord attached the transcript from Williams’ June, 17, 2022, arrest to a document provided to the court ahead of her sentencing for the September crash.
He argues Williams learned nothing from her first arrest, and deserves the maximum sentence.
The 47-page transcript starts when Officer Singh first contacts Williams and lasts until he reads her the Watson advisal, which warns motorists arrested on suspicion of drunken driving that they could face charges up to murder if they drive drunk and someone dies as a result.
The encounter starts politely enough, with Singh telling Williams he’s conducting an investigation and her answering standard questions about her health, medications and any issues with her car.
She says she last had a drink — a Moscow Mule — around 1 p.m. at Luigi’s Restaurant and Delicatessen. That was about five hours earlier.
Singh has her perform field sobriety tests. Williams complains — “This is exhausting” she says of one test — and after a few tests refuses to perform more.
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The officer then gives her a preliminary breath test.
When it shows she’s over the limit, Williams refuses to either provide an evidentiary breath sample or have her blood drawn for testing as required by state law.
Singh tells her he’ll get a warrant to obtain a blood sample.
“How do I get outta this?” Williams asks.
“Un- unfortunately, ma’am you cannot,” Singh says.
She continues to argue, saying he can’t legally get a warrant for her blood if she doesn’t agree. Plus, she says, there will be no alcohol in her system by the time she’s tested.
“Like I said, ma’am, if you do not authorize, I’ll get a warrant,” Singh tells her.
“Then get a f—— warrant, babe,” she responds.
“I will, ma’am,” Singh says.
“There you go,” she says. “By the time you get a warrant, there’ll be nothing. Okay. There already is nothing.”
When told she might be in custody between eight to 10 hours, Williams tries to make a deal.
She offers Singh $15,000. He declines, telling her she’ll need that money to handle the DUI.Madison Williams guilty of DUI in crash that injured family inside home
Williams continues to try to wriggle out of an arrest, asking Singh to give her a ride to her mother’s house.
“Do you want me to lose my job?” Singh asks.
“I will f—— pay for your job,” Williams says. “I make way more than that.”
Williams owns multiple businesses in town. She brags about her wealth when Singh asks about her work.
“I own like half of Bakersfield,” she says.
Her remark about being white, “so let’s stop it,” follows soon after, and she becomes increasingly argumentative. She threatens to sue, and drops the names of a couple attorneys.
No judge will approve a warrant to draw her blood at night, she says.
“And if they do, I will f—— sue their asses and you, and you will f—— owe a lot of money,” she tells Singh.
She continues, “I donate thousands of dollars. You are so much better than that. Why, why would you wanna do that? Do you just don’t give a s—? F— this. Whatever, you’re a f—— Boomer.”
‘My best friends are lawyers’
After insulting the officer, Williams asks him to call her mother. She offers to give him a bracelet worth $600.
Then she goes back to saying she’ll be below the legal limit by the time Singh gets a warrant.
“Honey, by the time you get a warrant, like, through t- there’s no way that my BAC is going to be over 0.08%. So, can you stop? There’s absolutely no way. It’s not gonna happen. My best friends are lawyers. So, can you undo this and can we stop? I will give you someone to actually arrest if that makes a difference.”Never miss a story: Make KGET.com your homepage
She adds, “There’s no way a judge is gonna (sic) to approve it right now, there’s just no way . . . especially because I’m really good friends with all of the judges.”
A warrant to draw her blood was authorized after Singh took her to Kern Medical.
Williams again references her race — “Thank God I’m white” — when Singh refuses to tell her which judge authorized the warrant. He says it will be included in the paperwork she’ll receive after she’s released.
She continues to insult him, saying he’s acting like an “idiot” and being stupid.
“You are honestly the dumbest person I’ve ever met in my life,” she says.
For all the criticisms and insults Williams threw at Singh, she made a comment that may provide insight into her own behavior.
She says, “I, I literally am the most spoiled brat that you’ve ever met in your life.”
‘They’ve never been afraid before’: Why some green card holders’ concerns are growing
By Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
10 min read
Updated 10:27 PM EDT, Sat March 22, 2025
A Colorado business owner called her immigration attorney in a panic this week, wrestling with a worry she never expected: If she travels abroad for a conference, could she end up getting deported?
A woman from Cameroon who lives in the Midwest made a heartbreaking decision: Flying home for her father’s funeral would be too risky.
An immigrant of Palestinian descent cancelled international travel plans — and worried that walking outside their New England home with a keffiyeh they’ve worn for years might no longer be safe.
And a Canadian tattoo artist who lives in Washington state shared her fears on social media about an upcoming trip across the border.
These four people have never met, and many details of their lives are different. But they share at least one thing in common. They are legal immigrants with green cards — documents deeming them lawful permanent residents of the United States. And they told CNN they’re still scared the Trump administration could kick them out of the country.
Immigration lawyer LaToya McBean Pompy says this growing fear is the biggest issue she sees among her clients who have green cards.
“They’ve never been afraid before,” she says, “but today, they’re afraid.”
Why some green card holders say they’re worried
About 12.8 million green card holders live in the United States, according to the latest estimates from the Office of Homeland Security Statistics.
And some of them were taken by surprise when authorities detained a former student protest leader at New York’s Columbia University earlier this month. Mahmoud Khalil, who helped lead the school’s student protest movement demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, is married to a US citizen and had a green card. He isn’t facing any criminal charges, but Trump administration officials have accused him of inciting violence and supporting terrorism – claims Khalil’s attorneys and supporters deny.
“I think the fact he happened to be a permanent resident underscored the vulnerability of all non-citizens in this country to a lot of people who hadn’t thought it through,” says David Leopold, an immigration attorney in Ohio and former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Activists hold a rally and march through downtown Chicago to show support for Mahmoud Khalil on March 11. Scott Olson/Getty Images
Leopold says it’s not uncommon for green card holders to be detained and deported if they’re accused and convicted of certain crimes.
“It’s fairly routine,” he says, noting that the statute lists offenses such as document fraud, drug offenses and crimes that are deemed “aggravated felonies” in immigration law.
Who’s next? Is it a climate activist? It is a gender-rights activist? Is it trans activists? Is it somebody who is concerned about health care? Is it somebody who just simply opposes Donald Trump?
David Leopold, immigration attorney
But the Trump administration’s attempt to deport Khalil under the portion of the statute that cites “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States” is far rarer and more troubling, Leopold says.
“Who’s next?” Leopold told reporters on a recent call with immigrant rights advocates. “Is it a climate activist? It is a gender-rights activist? Is it trans activists? Is it somebody who is concerned about health care? Is it somebody who just simply opposes Donald Trump?”
Even before Khalil’s high-profile arrest, many green card holders were wrestling with fears they weren’t expecting, McBean Pompy says.
“I think it had to do with ICE and enforcement activities that folks were seeing and posting about that were happening in their communities,” she says.
Recent comments from officials like Vice President JD Vance have sparked even more concern, she says.
“A green card holder, even if I may like that green card holder, doesn’t have an indefinite right to be in the United States of America, right?” Vance said in an interview with Fox News last week. “American citizens have different rights from people who have green cards, from people who have student visas. And so my attitude on this is, this is not fundamentally about free speech. And to me, yes, it’s about national security, but it’s also, more importantly, about – who do we as an American public decide gets to join our national community? And if the Secretary of State and the President decide, ‘This person shouldn’t be in America, and they have no legal right to stay here,’ it’s as simple as that.”
A green card holder, even if I may like that green card holder, doesn’t have an indefinite right to be in the United States of America.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance in a recent interview with Fox News
McBean Pompy, who’s based in White Plains, New York, and frequently posts her analyses of immigration issues on social media, shared a clip of Vance’s remarks with her followers, describing the vice president’s comments as “a shocking new standard.”
“When our policymakers speak about this issue in such a loose way, it makes me a little uncomfortable,” she told CNN, “because there are very strict rules governing a green card holder’s rights and abilities in the United States, and I just want to make sure that we’re following due process.”
They’re scared about upcoming travel plans
Marina Sinden, a green card holder in Washington state who’s married to a US citizen, is looking forward to visiting her family in Canada for Easter. But the 37-year-old tattoo artist says she’s not looking forward to what she fears might happen when she tries to return to her US home afterward.
“I’m really concerned about making the crossing back into the United States. … I have an entire world here to lose if I’m not allowed to re-enter,” Sinden says.
Escalating tensions between the US and Canada, plus a recent report of a Canadian woman who was detained at the border for 12 days, are weighing on her.
I’m really concerned about making the crossing back into the United States. … I have an entire world here to lose if I’m not allowed to re-enter.
Marina Sinden, a green card holder in Washington state who’s planning to travel to Canada soon
“I’m very concerned about going through an experience like that,” Sinden says. “I own a home here. I own a brick-and-mortar business. I have vehicles. I have children in school. And I have a daughter who says the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag every single day.”
Sinden says she worries a clerical error in her file from a past green card application could cause confusion, even though she resolved that problem in court, her current green card is valid and she has no criminal record.
“I’m concerned that no matter what I’ve done to do the right things (and) respect the rules… I could have my entire life taken from me for a clerical issue … where something was misfiled one time incorrectly,” she says.
Marina Sinden says she has a green card, but still worries she could be detained by US immigration officials. Courtesy Marina Sinden
The stress is something that’s difficult for those who haven’t dealt directly with the US immigration system to understand, says Maria, a 38-year-old business owner in Colorado. She asked to be identified only by her first name out of concern that speaking out could jeopardize her legal status in the US.
Maria told CNN she came to the US from Costa Rica when she was 5 years old. She has a green card now, but as a child she was undocumented for years after her family overstayed their visas.
“I remember feeling like we couldn’t go to the doctor, we couldn’t go do anything, because the fear of deportation was so real,” she says. “It’s terrible, and now, oh my God, all my childhood traumas and fears are being reignited and lived again — something I never thought I’d have to deal with ever again.”
Am I still scared? Yes.
Maria, a green card holder in Colorado whose attorney advised her that traveling abroad is safe
This week, as she prepared to put down a deposit to attend an important work conference abroad, Maria called her lawyer. Even with the green card she’s had for years, the situation feels increasingly uncertain, she says.
“He told me, ‘It’s fine, you’re OK, you can go,’” she says. “But am I still scared? Yes.”
What immigration attorneys are telling clients about travel
For immigration attorney Charles Kuck, it’s a telling sign of the times. The last time he received so many calls from concerned legal residents, he says, was after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
In recent weeks, Kuck says he’s been fielding numerous calls from clients with green cards — and working to reassure them.
“Green card holders should be fine,” Kuck says. “Unless they’re engaging in activities that (Secretary of State) Marco Rubio would consider to be terrorism, I think they’re absolutely OK. And that’s the vast majority of people.”
Commercial trucks head towards the US Customs and Border Protection Pacific Highway Port of Entry from south Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, November 26, 2024. Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters/File
Green card holders largely have the same rights as US citizens, he says, “unless — and there’s always an unless — they’ve committed a crime. If they’ve committed a crime, then they do not have the right to re-enter the United States without being subject to being questioned and maybe put into deportation proceedings.”
They also don’t have the right to live indefinitely outside the country, he says.
Green card holders should be fine. Unless they’re engaging in activities that (Secretary of State) Marco Rubio would consider to be terrorism, I think they’re absolutely OK. And that’s the vast majority of people.
Charles Kuck, immigration attorney
McBean Pompy says she advises green card holders not to stay outside the US longer than six months. If they do, she says, it’s possible for the US government “to allege that they have abandoned their residency.” Also, green card holders who are in removal proceedings shouldn’t travel, she says. And she advises clients not to sign any documents at the airport, especially if they don’t understand them.
Leopold says the advice he’s giving to clients varies depending on their circumstances. He’s advised many visa holders to hold off on travel, particularly given the possibility that new travel bans are coming soon from the Trump administration.
“If I were not a citizen, I would think long and hard before I traveled. And that includes green card holders. It’s less of a risk, obviously, for a green card holder to travel, because you do have more rights with the green card, and it’s much harder to keep a green card holder out of the country,” he says. “But anybody who’s got blemishes on their record, a conviction, even misdemeanor convictions, they should not travel unless they’ve talked to counsel.”
A vehicle is pictured at the US Customs and Border Protection – Derby Line Port of Entry at the Canada-U.S. border between the U.S. state of Vermont and the Canadian province of Quebec. Carlos Osorio/Reuters
To some, even staying in the US doesn’t feel safe
Deciding it wasn’t safe to leave the US and attend her father’s funeral in Cameroon a few weeks ago was heartbreaking, a 40-year-old green card holder in the Midwest told CNN this week.
On top of her grief, watching recent news and social media posts on her phone has left her feeling devastated and uncertain about her life as an immigrant in this country, she said.
“When I got my green card, I thought everything was going to be OK for me. … Lately, with all that’s been going on, I don’t even know,” the woman said. She asked to be identified only by her first initial, L, because she came to the US seeking asylum and is worried speaking out could endanger her family.
“When we see what is happening, the number of people that are being deported, it’s really scary for us,” L said.
Demonstrators hold signs outside of the Rhode Island State House to protest the deportation of doctor and Brown University assistant professor Rasha Alawieh on March 17. US Customs and Border Protection said Alawieh had attended the public funeral in Lebanon of Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time leader of Hezbollah, and a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson alleged she expressed support of Nasrallah to CBP officers. Scott Eisen/Getty Images
After Khalil’s recent arrest, a green card holder of Palestinian descent told CNN they’re feeling worried about walking outside their New England home wearing a keffiyeh — let alone traveling internationally. They asked to be identified by the initial K out of fear that speaking out could jeopardize their immigration case.
“I can’t even be guaranteed that in my home an agent won’t come in and forcibly remove me because the President or the Secretary of State deems someone a threat … It’s really hard to feel safe when that’s what we’re being told,” K said, adding that reports of other arrests and deportations have only intensified fears.
“And I think the intent was fear,” K said. “That was very much intentional — to have people afraid to speak out, to have people afraid to exercise the freedoms that are rightfully theirs to take part in.”
‘You will see a lot more people applying for citizenship’
In addition to questions about whether they can safely travel and whether their green cards can be taken away, immigration attorneys say these days they’re also getting more questions from green card holders about becoming US citizens.
“I think you will see a lot more people applying for citizenship than might normally have applied,” Kuck says.
Officials estimate that more than two-thirds of the almost 13 million green card holders in the US are eligible to become citizens.
But despite their eligibility, some of her clients are more hesitant now to pursue citizenship, McBean Pompy says.
“They’re making a decision — ‘OK, I’m going to wait and see how things shake out with this administration before I really try to move forward with it,’ because they don’t want to be caught up in any of the major changes,” she says.
Immigrants wait for a naturalization ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 11. Attorneys say they expect more people to apply for citizenship amid growing uncertainty. Brian Snyder/Reuters
Maria, the Colorado business owner, says now it feels like becoming a citizen is the only way to keep her family safe and make sure her 12-year-old son doesn’t have to deal with the same worries she faced as a child. Soon she’s planning to begin the paperwork.
“I don’t want to be separated from my family,” she says.
Sinden says she sees things differently. She considered becoming a US citizen before. And she’ll be eligible to apply this month. But escalating tensions with her home country, she says, have made her feel so unwelcome in the US that becoming a citizen now feels like a step too far.
“I don’t believe in the current policies and the aggression towards my country. I don’t know how far that’s going to go,” she says.
So instead of taking steps toward US citizenship, Sinden is opting for something even more permanent than a green card.
She recently tattooed a Canadian maple leaf on the palm of her hand.
CNN’s Jennifer Hauser contributed to this report.
