Immigration and Customs Enforcement is facing ridicule from the public over a video that has surfaced on social media to show agents boarding a Greyhound and taking an elderly individual into custody after they reportedly demanded to see I.D. from passengers on the bus.
The incident happened on Friday, January, 19 when a bus bound for Miami from Ft. Lauderdale was suddenly held up - with the driver having informed those seated that the border patrol officers were coming aboard to simply run a routine inspection.
Within moments of the uniformed men stepping foot on the bus, however, they were asking to see identification, according to reports from witnesses. In the words of the woman who filmed the viral clip, the ICE agents “lied to passengers.“Instead, Customs and Border Patrol agents entered and demanded that passengers demonstrate proof of citizenship,” a statement provided for a report on the incident read.
All but one person on board were spared detention. In the two-minute recording (which was viewed more than three million times since being posted to the internet) a woman of Jamaican descent is asked to rise and gather her possessions. The woman, who has been identified by the first name 'Beverly' was turned over for removal operations some days after she was arrested and booked. It is reported that she overstayed a tourist visa.
Despite Fourth Amendment protections against arbitrary stops and searches, there are federal laws that enable law enforcement officials to operate with more flexibility within 100 miles of the U.S. border. However, the American Civil Liberties Union contends that it is still illegal to "pull anyone over without ‘reasonable suspicion’ of an immigration violation or crime.”
