5 ms·

They are not legally entitled to deny you entry. That doesn't mean they can't deny you entry. It means you might win a court case some day. ICE cannot legally

They are not legally entitled to deny you entry. That doesn't mean they can't deny you entry. It means you might win a court case some day. ICE cannot legally arrest people who are citizens for no reason, and yet they have done exactly that 30% of the time by their own admission. "Knowing your rights" is meaningless if the public chooses to vote for people who don't care about those rights, and celebrate when you do not get your rights. It doesn't matter what the paper says, it matters what CBP feels like doing, and what their management lets them get away with. The constitution is just a magic circle we all agree to play in, and isn't real if enough people disregard it. If the border agent doesn't want you to come into the country, you are fucked. Nobody's job is to get between that agent and you and ensure the border agent follows the law on the paper, and the border agent will not go to jail or even lose their job for completely ignoring the law.

SR2Z 11mo ago
> If the border agent doesn't want you to come into the country, you are fucked. You are seriously inconvenienced, but assuming your paperwork is in order, you will be allowed into the US. This isn't just against US law, it's a violation of international law to render a person stateless. This ignores the real point, which is that while you cannot be refused entry to the United States, you can be arrested at the border. ICE these days has mastered the art of making people's detainment so uncomfortable that even those with a right to be in this country end up deciding to leave.
- globalnode 11mo ago
  yes sure you can come into america, straight into a holding cell until you hand over your pins/passwords or go back home.
  - lrvick 11mo ago
    Unlikely, but if that did happen an army of lawyers would be willing to help pro bono for such a constitutionally critical case. Never comply with such nonsense.
    - SR2Z 11mo ago
      An army of lawyers will not make the jail cell more comfortable when ICE has decided to make you suffer. The Supreme Court has seen to that.
hn_throwaway_99 11mo ago
> ICE cannot legally arrest people who are citizens for no reason, and yet they have done exactly that 30% of the time by their own admission. Where are you getting that statistic (honest question)?
- mrguyorama 11mo ago
  I overstated, but it's murky. https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/12/05/despite-medias-claims-ice-continues-arrest-worst-worst-criminal-illegal-aliens https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/12/05/despite-medias-claims-ic... Why would ICE leave the number as low as "70%" if they could be higher? Every illegal alien is a criminal as far as the law is concerned. Every illegal alien arrested is "charged with a crime". Otherwise ICE is openly stating to its supporters that they arrest illegal aliens and then release them, something their supporters are vocally against, and the administration believes and claims to be a serious problem. Meanwhile, the Cato Institute a libertarian think tank, claims they have been leaked far worse data https://www.cato.org/blog/5-ice-detainees-have-violent-convictions-73-no-convictions https://www.cato.org/blog/5-ice-detainees-have-violent-convi... A direct reading of ICE's claims (that seem to be contrary to information obtained through FOIA?) is that 70% of the people they arrest are criminals, which by their own definitions, would imply 30% of the people they arrest are not illegally here, but that's reading between the lines and it's hard to lend any credence to anything said by an administration that treats public statements as a fun gaslighting game. But essentially, if ICE COULD claim everyone they arrest is an illegal alien (and literally a criminal they are legally allowed to arrest and deport), why wouldn't they? Flag my claim if appropriate.
  - filleduchaos 11mo ago
    I mean, you didn't just overstate, you flat out just made it up. The opposite of "illegal alien" is not "citizen".
    - mcny 11mo ago
      Instead of citizens, we would say People who are legally authorized to remain in the United States? Is there a word for that?
mrguyorama 11mo ago
>ICE cannot legally arrest people who are citizens for no reason, and yet they have done exactly that 30% of the time by their own admission. I can no longer modify, retract, edit, etc my comment. This statement is almost certainly false, and I made it without due diligence to confirm I remembered the wording of a claim ICE made. We know ICE has arrested some people who are American citizens, but we do not have anything near enough good data to make anything close to the claim I made. This is a record of my error. Remember this if you see my comments again.

SR2Z 11mo ago

> If the border agent doesn't want you to come into the country, you are fucked. You are seriously inconvenienced, but assuming your paperwork is in order, you will be allowed into the US. This isn't just against US law, it's a violation of international law to render a person stateless. This ignores the real point, which is that while you cannot be refused entry to the United States, you can be arrested at the border. ICE these days has mastered the art of making people's detainment so uncomfortable that even those with a right to be in this country end up deciding to leave.

globalnode 11mo ago
yes sure you can come into america, straight into a holding cell until you hand over your pins/passwords or go back home.
- lrvick 11mo ago
  Unlikely, but if that did happen an army of lawyers would be willing to help pro bono for such a constitutionally critical case. Never comply with such nonsense.
  - SR2Z 11mo ago
    An army of lawyers will not make the jail cell more comfortable when ICE has decided to make you suffer. The Supreme Court has seen to that.

hn_throwaway_99 11mo ago

> ICE cannot legally arrest people who are citizens for no reason, and yet they have done exactly that 30% of the time by their own admission. Where are you getting that statistic (honest question)?

mrguyorama 11mo ago
I overstated, but it's murky. https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/12/05/despite-medias-claims-ice-continues-arrest-worst-worst-criminal-illegal-aliens https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/12/05/despite-medias-claims-ic... Why would ICE leave the number as low as "70%" if they could be higher? Every illegal alien is a criminal as far as the law is concerned. Every illegal alien arrested is "charged with a crime". Otherwise ICE is openly stating to its supporters that they arrest illegal aliens and then release them, something their supporters are vocally against, and the administration believes and claims to be a serious problem. Meanwhile, the Cato Institute a libertarian think tank, claims they have been leaked far worse data https://www.cato.org/blog/5-ice-detainees-have-violent-convictions-73-no-convictions https://www.cato.org/blog/5-ice-detainees-have-violent-convi... A direct reading of ICE's claims (that seem to be contrary to information obtained through FOIA?) is that 70% of the people they arrest are criminals, which by their own definitions, would imply 30% of the people they arrest are not illegally here, but that's reading between the lines and it's hard to lend any credence to anything said by an administration that treats public statements as a fun gaslighting game. But essentially, if ICE COULD claim everyone they arrest is an illegal alien (and literally a criminal they are legally allowed to arrest and deport), why wouldn't they? Flag my claim if appropriate.
- filleduchaos 11mo ago
  I mean, you didn't just overstate, you flat out just made it up. The opposite of "illegal alien" is not "citizen".
  - mcny 11mo ago
    Instead of citizens, we would say People who are legally authorized to remain in the United States? Is there a word for that?

mrguyorama 11mo ago

>ICE cannot legally arrest people who are citizens for no reason, and yet they have done exactly that 30% of the time by their own admission. I can no longer modify, retract, edit, etc my comment. This statement is almost certainly false, and I made it without due diligence to confirm I remembered the wording of a claim ICE made. We know ICE has arrested some people who are American citizens, but we do not have anything near enough good data to make anything close to the claim I made. This is a record of my error. Remember this if you see my comments again.