US citizen detained by ICE on Long Island speaks out, calls agents 'criminals'

NEW YORK - A Hispanic U.S. citizen said he was "heartbroken" after ICE agents on Long Island stopped and detained him without reasonable suspicion or probable cause.

"They said that they’re looking for criminals, but in reality, they're the criminals," Elzon Lemus, a 23-year-old from Brentwood, told reporters Thursday.

23-year-old U.S. citizen stopped and detained on Long Island

"They said that they’re looking for criminals, but in reality, they're the criminals," Elzon Lemus, a 23-year-old from Brentwood, told reporters Thursday. FOX 5 NY's Jessica Formoso has the latest.

Video shows Elzon Lemus's encounter

Timeline:

During a press conference on Thursday, Lemus and his attorneys presented video footage of an encounter with the apparent ICE agents. Lemus, who was a passenger in the car on his way to work, captured the interaction as agents stopped the vehicle around 7:30 a.m. in Westbury, asserting that Lemus "looks like somebody we are looking for."

He said he was surrounded by cop cars and saw men wearing vests that read "ICE" and "HSI."

This screenshot shows video of Elzon Lemus' encounter with ICE.

"I kept asking them, 'What's your name and badge number?' And they're like, ‘We’re not authorized to do that," Lemus recounted. "I told them that I'm not authorized to give my ID then."

When asked for identification without a clear reason, Lemus refused, and so an agent reached into the car, opened the door and placed him in handcuffs. 

"I didn't want to get my ID because as soon as I saw how they were dressed, I knew they weren't police officers. I didn't commit a crime and wasn't driving," he said.

Lemus said he spent about 20 to 25 minutes in cuffs while agents confiscated his phone to stop him from recording the incident.

He was then searched, and his ID was found after agents looked through his pockets.

"It was heartbreaking … it felt like my rights were just out the window," he said.

‘Violation of rights’

What they're saying:

Lemus' lawyer, Fred Brewington, argues the agents' actions were a violation of rights, calling for a federal civil rights investigation. 

"This is not America. This is not how we as Americans should have to live. This is not how this young man, as a young Hispanic man going to work at 7:30 in the morning, needs to be greeted at the beginning of his day," he said.

Increased presence of ICE agents noticed by Long Island residents

FOX 5 NY's Jessica Formoso reports that Long Island residents have noticed an increased presence of ICE agents recently.

New York State Assemblyman Philip Ramo, a former police detective, also demands an investigation, labeling the incident as racial profiling. 

Nassau County Police stated they were not involved and directed inquiries to ICE, which has not responded to FOX 5 NY's request for comment.

ICE raids across the country

Big picture view:

Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and chief architect of Trump’s immigration policies, said late last month that ICE should make at least 3,000 arrests a day. That would mark a dramatic increase from Jan. 20 to May 19, when the agency made an average of 656 arrests a day.

Protests over federal immigration enforcement raids are flaring up around the country, but the Trump administration said immigration raids and deportations will continue regardless.