After Key Largo detainment, experts weigh in on what to do during an immigration stop
A woman was forcefully pulled out of her car and handcuffed by federal immigration agents as she screamed for help and insisted she was a U.S. citizen on Wednesday morning in Key Largo.
The woman, dressed in medical scrubs and driving a white Toyota, was placed into a car by agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and CBP’s Air and Marine Operations. A Miami Herald reporter who recorded the incident saw the agents let her go after about 10 minutes.
According to CBP, one of the agencies conducting immigration enforcement operations in the Keys, the woman, who has not been publicly identified, refused to provide her driver’s license or roll down her window when she was stopped.
But legal experts say that unlike traffic stops conducted by local police for violations such as speeding, individuals generally have the right to refuse to provide identification during immigration traffic stops and officers cannot search a vehicle without a warrant.
READ MORE: ‘I’m a U.S. citizen.’ Agents pull woman from car in Keys. Feds said she wouldn’t show ID
Using license-plate readers
People pulled over by federal agents retain the right to remain silent, request an attorney and ask whether they are being detained. Agents are required to have “an individualized reasonable suspicion when they’re going to pull over any specific car,” said Miami immigration attorney Alicia Morgan.
She added that ICE and Border Patrol do routinely have access to license-plate reader databases that allow agents to scan plates in real time and instantly see the registered owner’s name, prior immigration encounters, prior arrests and detainers, address history and who the vehicle is associated with.
However, the fact that a car is registered to someone without lawful status does not create reasonable suspicion to detain a different person driving it.
“That’s not how the law works,” she said.
All persons in the U.S. are protected from “unreasonable” searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. There must be a search warrant issued, based on probable cause, in order to search the person, their home or their documents, the amendment says.
Morgan said issues have arisen under the Trump administration where she says the Constitution has become “more of a suggestion,” and advises people to be very careful even when they do exercise their rights.
“Everybody suffers when the Constitution is not being followed,” Morgan said.
What to do during a stop
In the case of the Keys woman, a U.S. citizen, a CPB spokesman told the Herald that the woman was driving the car of her “illegal” boyfriend.
Morgan suggests that a person who has legal status to be in the U.S. should present the evidence to the agents to avoid being unlawfully detained.
READ MORE: Woman forcefully detained in Keys was driving ‘illegal’ boyfriend’s car, feds say
She said officers may order drivers out of a vehicle during a stop for a “legitimate traffic reason[s],” but if a stop is conducted solely for “immigration based” reasons, the way the woman was pulled from her car in Key Largo, that appears unlawful.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office was present during the stop but said its involvement was limited to assisting with traffic control.
Immigration attorney John Pratt also agreed that the current climate in the United States around immigration means that having “common sense” and cooperating with law enforcement is tantamount to avoiding an unnecessary physical altercation.
“What they consider to be immigration enforcement priorities is really trampling on people’s rights,” he said. “I think people have to use, for lack of a better word, common sense based on this new reality.”
Pratt suggests going as far as to always have a passport or other form of identification that shows citizenship status to avoid confrontations — even though it is not required by law to have those papers always available in the U.S.
“I understand that [people] should have these rights, but we’ve seen how they’re trampling on them,” he said, noting if a person deems there was excessive force or a violation of rights they should sue for damages.
Filing complaint after unlawful detainment
Morgan said that several legal options exist after an unlawful detainment, since the individual’s Fourth Amendment and civil rights may have been violated. One option is to file a civil rights complaint with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which investigates alleged abuses by ICE and CBP.
Another is to submit a complaint to the Office of Inspector General, particularly if excessive force was involved. The attorney added that consulting a civil rights lawyer could help the individual pursue further action, including potential claims for false arrest, excessive force, and unlawful search or seizure under the Fourth Amendment.
Florida falls entirely within the 100-mile border zone — meaning the state is within 100 miles of the nation’s border — which gives CBP and Border Patrol broader authority than in many other states that are not close to the border, Morgan said. Still, neither CBP nor ICE can legally stop every car just to check immigration status; they’re required to articulate specific, reasonable suspicion for any stop. That requirement became even more expansive following the Supreme Court ruling in Noem vs. Vazquez Perdomo, which held that agents can racially profile individuals in immigration enforcement.
“It’s always better to remain silent. It’s always better to say, I want a lawyer, especially if you don’t have immigration status, and always ask the question, Am I free? Am I being detained, or am I free to leave?” Morgan said. “Because if they don’t have enough information or reasonable suspicion, then they should let you go.”
If a person is detained, Morgan said, the most important thing they can do is remain silent.
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 8:53 PM.
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