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US citizen detained by ICE agents for 20-25 minutes based on appearance alone

July 2026 · Westbury, NY

US citizen detained by ICE agents for 20-25 minutes based on appearance alone

Elzon Lemus, a 23-year-old electrician and U.S. citizen from Brentwood, New York, was stopped and detained by ICE and Homeland Security agents while riding in a passenger seat on his way to work in Westbury. Agents told him he "looks like somebody we are looking for" but refused to identify themselves or specify who they were searching for. When Lemus refused to provide ID without identifying information from the agents, he was handcuffed and held for 20-25 minutes while they confiscated his phone; they eventually found his ID in his pockets. His attorney, Fred Brewington, is calling the incident racial profiling and a breach of federal civil rights, while state assemblyman Philip Ramo demanded a Department of Justice investigation.

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