U.S. citizen claims civil rights were violated during ICE traffic stop in Westbury
Elzon Lemus, a graduate of Brentwood High School who was born and raised in the United States, says he was on his way to work on June 3 when ICE agents pulled over the vehicle he was riding in.
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A Brentwood man says his civil rights were violated when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained him during a traffic stop in Westbury—despite the fact that he is a U.S. citizen.
Elzon Lemus, a graduate of Brentwood High School who was born and raised in the United States, says he was on his way to work on June 3 when ICE agents pulled over the vehicle he was riding in. According to Lemus, the agents did not identify themselves, and when he refused to hand over his identification, one of the agents reached into the vehicle and opened the door.
“I felt like I lost all rights when they pulled me over,” Lemus said. “It felt like I had nothing anymore. It felt like they stripped my rights.”
Lemus says he was handcuffed and searched for approximately 20 minutes. He also claims they prevented him from recording the incident. A portion of the encounter was still captured on cellphone video.
Frederick Brewington, a civil rights attorney representing Lemus, says the incident is a clear case of racial profiling and civil rights violations.
“Can you imagine the fear if you’re just walking down the street doing absolutely nothing—as did happen in this case—and you’re stopped and told to show your papers?” Brewington said. “We’ve heard those lines before.”
According to Lemus, the agents released him after about an hour. He defended his decision not to show identification, noting that he was not the driver.
“I don’t have to show ID because I didn’t commit a crime,” Lemus said. “And I wasn’t driving, so as a passenger I don’t need to show them that.”
The New York Civil Liberties Union confirms that individuals are generally not required to show identification to law enforcement, unless they are operating a vehicle.
Brewington is calling for a federal civil rights investigation into the conduct of the ICE agents involved. ICE has not yet responded to News 12’s request for comment.
