Being devoted to your job or loyal to your boss is admirable but shouldn’t come at the cost of possibly going to jail. Unfortunately, a Sacramento security guard might have decided on the wrong place to work when his boss told him that he would have to “physically stop ICE agents from entering [the] site.” He explains that he’s the surveillance for an English-teaching school for immigrants. However, the “supervisor told me to challenge any ICE agents attempting to enter and do not let them into the site no matter what.”
“Can he tell me to do that?” the security guard asks, puzzled and a little scared. “I’ve only been a guard 3 months and didn’t really get too much training when I was hired,” the man nervously explains. “I don’t wanna do the wrong thing and end up detained myself let alone lose my license,” he protests, fearful of what the consequences of obstructing an ICE arrest could be. Not to mention, he is not only unarmed but the only security guard on the site. ICE works in groups, so any physical altercation would be a bad idea.
The top commenters of the security guard’s Reddit post about the matter agree that it’s fine to verbally challenge ICE’s request to answer and refuse entry if they don’t possess a warrant. However, “Obviously, it would be very unwise to try to physically stop them though,” a user warns. “The truth is they will likely do what they want to anyway,” which is unfortunately true, as ICE agents are typically determined to meet their quota, no matter what.
“OP, you seem to be in the right mindset to just let them do what they will,” one user says, commending the security guard. But they continue, “Do NOT get involved physically or even remotely physically with a thumb.” Even if the guard isn’t convicted or found guilty of anything besides doing his job, dealing with a criminal charge that ICE might put on him would be an absolute nightmare to deal with, not to mention upwards of tens of thousands of dollars.
One person explains how agents will often try to “bamboozle their way in” by confusing their victims or overwhelming them to fish out words that trigger a “verbal agreement to enter.” It’s not common for ICE to show warrants when making arrests, but it wouldn’t be wrong to pressure them to provide one. The commenter finishes their advice and explanations with, “Your boss is a f***ing idiot.”
Hopefully, the security guard avoids any sort of physical confrontation with ICE for his own safety’s sake. Perhaps looking for a new boss who cares about the well-being of the employees might also be a solid idea.
