Photo: Facebook / Cheyenne Hoyt
A recent viral video from Kansas City, Missouri, has reignited the debate on the use of excessive force, especially in the presence of children, after one dad / illegal immigrant thought he could hide out in his car from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The incident happened on Monday and was streamed live on social media by the man’s girlfriend of 11 years, Cheyenne Hoyt. You will also find it at the bottom of the page. The man’s name is Florencio Millan-Vazquez, from Mexico. He was deported voluntarily in 2011 after a misdemeanor conviction but re-entered the U.S. just 5 days later under an assumed name.
ICE got to him as he was driving his 7-month daughter to therapy. With him in the car was Cheyenne and their 11-year-old son, and the whole thing played out in front of the kids. Millan-Vazquez assumed that he could refuse to show identification or go with the agents on the premise that he was in his car, which was personal property, and they couldn’t break into it if he told them not to.
He thought wrong. As one immigration attorney, Jessica Piedra, says for USA Today, agents don’t have to have a warrant to arrest someone in their car – this only applies when they pick up someone from their home. Piedra describes the standard for a warrantless arrest in a vehicle “a little murky.”
As Millan-Vazquez refused to answer questions, show identification or proof that he was in the U.S. legally, ICE agents and officers from the Kansas City Police warned him that they would break the window on the driver’s side and get him out. After 25 minutes of back and forth, they did just that.
In a statement to the same media outlet, ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer says Millan-Vazquez was uncooperative, refused to come out of the car or "follow lawfully issued commands issued by ICE and local police.”
“After attempting to negotiate with Millan-Vazquez for about 25 minutes, the ICE officers were left with no other choice than make the arrest by physically removing him from the vehicle,” Neudauer adds. He calls Millan-Vazquez an “immigration fugitive” who came back to the U.S. despite the deportation order issued by a federal judge.
Before breaking the window, they warned him of what they were about to do and asked him to cover his face and to make sure that the kids were safe, as well.
Trinidad Raj Molina, Program Coordinator for Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation (AIRR), is now working with Millan-Vazquez after the arrest. He says they’re not contesting the prior deportation, just the way the arrest was carried out.
ICE got to him as he was driving his 7-month daughter to therapy. With him in the car was Cheyenne and their 11-year-old son, and the whole thing played out in front of the kids. Millan-Vazquez assumed that he could refuse to show identification or go with the agents on the premise that he was in his car, which was personal property, and they couldn’t break into it if he told them not to.
He thought wrong. As one immigration attorney, Jessica Piedra, says for USA Today, agents don’t have to have a warrant to arrest someone in their car – this only applies when they pick up someone from their home. Piedra describes the standard for a warrantless arrest in a vehicle “a little murky.”
As Millan-Vazquez refused to answer questions, show identification or proof that he was in the U.S. legally, ICE agents and officers from the Kansas City Police warned him that they would break the window on the driver’s side and get him out. After 25 minutes of back and forth, they did just that.
In a statement to the same media outlet, ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer says Millan-Vazquez was uncooperative, refused to come out of the car or "follow lawfully issued commands issued by ICE and local police.”
“After attempting to negotiate with Millan-Vazquez for about 25 minutes, the ICE officers were left with no other choice than make the arrest by physically removing him from the vehicle,” Neudauer adds. He calls Millan-Vazquez an “immigration fugitive” who came back to the U.S. despite the deportation order issued by a federal judge.
Before breaking the window, they warned him of what they were about to do and asked him to cover his face and to make sure that the kids were safe, as well.
Trinidad Raj Molina, Program Coordinator for Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation (AIRR), is now working with Millan-Vazquez after the arrest. He says they’re not contesting the prior deportation, just the way the arrest was carried out.
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