This presidential administration has allowed actions that infringe upon the fundamental human rights of American citizens. It seems that everywhere I look, Homeland Security or ICE are detaining individuals based on mere hunches. Recently, in Portland, Oregon, Homeland Security officers were seen detaining two Indigenous people without reading them their rights or providing a reason for their arrest. Every day, it appears that more police officers are pushing the boundaries of what they can get away with.
Reddit user SlippySlimJim posted a short video depicting two indigenous protestors being detained by Homeland Security personnel. The woman being detained can be heard asking why she is being arrested, with no one seeming to want to respond to her. It was also noted that none of the officers read these people their rights before transporting them into the ICE facility they were protesting outside of.
What I find to be the most interesting is that their arrest seems to be the very thing they were protesting against: unlawful arrest simply for disagreeing. Various commenters on the original Reddit post also pointed out various unlawful aspects of the officer’s actions, with one person saying, “This confuses me – if they aren’t stating a reason for an arrest OR reading you your rights – you can ask them if they are arresting you. Then if they don’t answer you can claim the lack of confirmation you can take as I am not being arrested, and therefore have no right to be detained and begin walking away. At that point they either need to arrest you and read your rights declaring what the arrest is for, or, back down.”
Personally, I couldn’t agree any more with the above quote. I can’t find any reason to arrest someone for standing peacefully outside of a building, as far as I was able to see from what was recorded. I also think it’s important to note that neither of the people being detained were resisting arrest or being noncomplacent throughout. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up being charged with resisting arrest of some sort.
