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By Suzanne Gamboa and Jareen Imam
A member of a group who urged immigrants to know their rights used some of this training to prevent immigration officers from arresting two people who were in the car with him.
Bryan MacCormack, 30, executive director of the Columbia County Shrine movement in upstate New York State, was videotaped while he refused to open the door of his car, what an officer of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement has termed "arrest warrant against a stranger".
MacCormack had just accompanied two non-status immigration palaces to the courthouse to deal with minor traffic citation. They were in their car about 20 seconds when they were stopped by ICE agents, MacCormack told NBC News.
Before the agent arrived at the car, MacCormack asked one of his passengers to start recording a video and reminded them of the rights. Passengers had been informed that they could be arrested and prepared for this eventuality, MacCormack said.
The video begins when MacCormack tells an ICE agent at the window of his car that the papers he gave her do not constitute an arrest warrant.
"Yes, sir, arrest warrant against the alien," says the unidentified agent at MacCormack by naming a line on the papers he's holding. The face of the officer can not be seen in the video.
"Yeah, arrest warrant from … alien, unsigned by a judge. This is not a judicial warrant. I have no obligation to oblige by this mandate, "says MacCormack.
The MacCormack group posted the video on YouTube on March 8 and issued a press release. Some local media have written about the incident, but this one is just starting to catch the country's attention. A revised version of the video was released Tuesday night by NowThisNews.
"It's really not about me," MacCormack said. "That's what happens when people know their rights in general."
MacCormack had called the group's lawyer and put the call on the speakerphone. During the exchange, the lawyer can be heard telling MacCormack to tell the agent that he is on the way.
Despite MacCormack's protests, the car's agent reiterated that what he had in his hands was a legal warrant under the US Immigration and Nationality Act, signed by "an official of that designated authority." ". But MacCormack responded that the warrant was not an official warrant under the US Constitution, but an order from the Department of Homeland Security.
He told the officer that he was attending a training accredited by the Department of Justice and that he had copies of the documents that the agent was showing him and a " true "stop warrant in the car" so that people know that they do not listen to it. "
The officer then asked MacCormack if he knew the laws governing the transportation and accommodation of illegal aliens in the United States.
"I was nervous and feared for my safety and that of the community members inside my vehicle.But I was also outraged by the tactics of ICE and their relentless pursuit of detention, expulsion and separation of families, "said MacCormack on the phone. .
A spokeswoman for ICE sent NBC News a statement that on March 5, ICE officers were looking for two people illegally present in the United States. "One person intervened in the law enforcement measures, which forced the officers to leave the premises to avoid further disruption."
The statement included a warning that people who interfere with ICE officers "expose themselves to potential criminal offenses and risk harming the people they claim to support". The statement cited an article of the law governing the assault, hindrance or resistance of public servants or federal employees.
Gloria Martinez, co-founder of the Columbia County County Movement, said the group was working hard to respond to arrests similar to those made with MacCormack.
The group often receives calls from people whose family members have been taken by ICE to the streets, out of court or on the way to work, she said. The group worked to inform people of their rights and teach them to demand that they be shown a warrant signed by a judge.
MacCormack said the ICE officers had signed arrest warrants for judges in only about 12 of the 12 cases of people arrested in court.
Martinez said that fear in the community often prevents people from claiming their rights even after they have been trained. CIE officers wear vests with "police" registration, which often confuses people, she said.
"Everyone sees ICE as very powerful and thinks they have to do what they say, that they can not ask questions and that they tend to comply," she said.
Many immigration and civil rights groups have organized campaigns and workshops to inform citizens of their rights since President Donald Trump took office, and ICE has become more aggressive in carrying out the work. arrest of persons without legal status in the United States.
MacCormack said the incident was the first time that he was using a training "know your rights" and that he was the first to witness the attempts to arrest on the ice. He hopes the video will help other people who might be arrested or who are witnessing an arrest by immigration.
"I want people to feel like whoever, no matter where," MacCormack said. "All you have to do is know your rights and you can prevent that from happening to people in your community."
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