HOUSTON – A Houston man says he was stopped by ICE agents earlier this month while driving to work — even though he is a U.S. citizen — an encounter he believes was driven by racial profiling.
David Flores, a third-generation U.S. citizen, says the stop happened January 1 as he was driving along Veterans Memorial Drive near Beltway 8 in north Harris County.
Flores says a black SUV began following him before activating its lights. When he pulled over, he says three additional unmarked vehicles arrived, boxing him in. In total, Flores estimates eight ICE agents surrounded his truck.
“I looked at them and I was like, ‘ICE?’” Flores said.
Flores says agents initially spoke to him in Spanish. He told them he speaks English and then informed them he is a U.S. citizen. He says he offered to show his passport and retrieved it from his bag after telling agents what he was doing.
“They started talking to me in Spanish, and I told them, ‘English — I speak English,’” Flores said.
After reviewing his passport, Flores says another agent approached and asked for his Social Security number — a request he refused.
Flores believes he was targeted because of the vehicle he was driving.
“I think they were profiling me because of my truck,” he said. “I drive a pickup, and a lot of Hispanic people use trucks for work.”
Flores is an IT technician and uses the pickup truck daily for his job.
He says the encounter ended abruptly after he took out his phone to record the interaction.
“As soon as I started recording, they just walked away,” Flores said. “They all left at the same time. No explanation.”
Flores says he was not cited or accused of committing any traffic violation. He also says this was the first time he has ever been stopped by ICE.
The experience, he says, has stayed with him.
“Every time I’m on the road now, I always think they’re gonna pull me over again," said Flores.
KPRC 2 spoke with immigration attorney Ruby Powers about what rights U.S. citizens have in situations like this.
“They have the right to remain silent,” said Powers. “A US citizen does not have to show proof of citizenship unless they are entering at the border and close to the border, or the internal border. And the situation that we’re discussing at hand was inside the United States, in Houston area. So you don’t have to have proof of your citizenship on you."
Powers says recent national attention surrounding ICE enforcement has heightened fear — not just among immigrants, but among U.S. citizens as well.
She advises anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation to remain calm, avoid escalating the encounter, and document what happens if possible.
"It’s probably best to remain calm as much as possible to try not to instigate any altercation," said Powers.
KPRC has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment and we are waiting to hear back.