Do Fort Worth residents need to answer questions from ICE? We asked an immigration lawyer
A new executive order pertaining to mass deportations is concerning residents about encounters with Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE). So what constitutional rights do lawful residents possess?
Dallas-Fort Worth has already seen the Trump administration’s new executive order in action.
On Jan. 26, six days after the order took place, the Dallas ICE agency confirmed the arrest of 84 people across D-FW for various reasons like “drug possession or overstaying,” according to a report from Star-Telegram news partner WFAA.
Regardless of citizenship or immigration status, anyone living in the U.S. has certain basic rights under the U.S. constitution.
The Star-Telegram spoke to Yadira Zepeda, the principal attorney and founder of Zepeda Law Firm in Fort Worth. She has worked in immigration law for more than 20 years. In an interview, she outlined the freedoms individuals are entitled to, particularly when confronted by an ICE officer.
“We understand that there is a priority in detaining individuals with a criminal background, as well as those with previous or unexecuted deportations,” said Zepeda, “However, we have seen that the push for productivity is translating to more situations that might encroach into people’s Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.”
Are you required to allow ICE in your business or home?
No, you are not required to let ICE into your home.
An ICE officer must have a judicial warrant and consent from the homeowner to enter.
A judicial warrant should include the searching location and the person or items that will be seized. This also must be signed by a judge within 10 days’ time. Judicial warrants are issued based on probable cause.
If an ICE officer is trying to enter your business or home, ask for their judicial warrant. If they have one, then that means they can enter your private property.
On the flip side, ICE can obtain administrative warrants, which allow them to remove a non-citizen.
However, “This warrant does not authorize ICE officers to enter into an area to execute the warrant,” said Zepeda. “The ICE officer only has authority to arrest the named person in the administrative removal warrant only in public areas or in non-recognizable places of exercise.”
Do you have to answer questions from ICE?
No, you do not necessarily have to answer questions from ICE. Zepeda stresses the importance of your Fifth Amendment right– the right to not incriminate yourself.
If you are at home, you do not need to answer any questions. Ask the officer for their judicial warrant and do not give consent.
If at a place of business, you also have the right to remain silent. Though ICE officers can enter a public business (or public places within a business like a lobby), you do not have to answer their questions. Instead ask again for their judicial warrant and identification.
Even if you are out in public, you still have the right to remain silent.
“Although the ICE officer can ask you for your identification, you are not legally required to provide that unless they have reasonable suspicion,” said Zepeda. “Reasonable suspicion can include your behavior in that interaction, but it cannot be based solely on your appearance.”If you are in your car, Texas law says you must provide an ID to a police officer. You can ask if they are police or highway patrol as well as why they are stopping you. If you fail to identify yourself, you may get a ticket or be arrested. If it is ICE, the officers must reasonably suspect that the vehicle contains undocumented immigrants based on objective facts, not appearance.
What are your rights if you see ICE?
“Non-citizens have a right to due process and have a right to remain silent to protect themselves from self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment,” Zepeda said. “You have the right under the Fourth Amendment to ask for a judicial warrant if in your home or business. Even if they have a valid warrant, you still have the right to remain silent.”
For green card holders, Zepeda suggests carrying your documentation with you at all times in case an ICE officer asks for identification. However, past providing ID, you are not required to answer any more questions.
Can ICE make arrests without a warrant in Fort Worth?
No, ICE cannot make arrests without a warrant in Fort Worth unless they have probable cause.
Zepeda stresses again that probable cause cannot be solely based on appearance.
This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 1:17 PM.