this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2026
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US Law (local/state/federal) âš–

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This is the only decentralized venue for chatter about law in the US. Federal law and law of various states and territories is on topic here.

Loosely related:

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From the linked PDF:

Give the officers my ID?
If the ICE officer demands your ID, only show a driver’s license or another ID issued from the U.S. government. DON’T give the officer any false or foreign documents such as a passport, consular ID, or an expired visa.

In NY, the DRIVER must show any officer a driver’s license. If you are the PASSENGER, you do NOT have to show the officer an ID or give any personal information, including your name, address, or place of birth.

This seems off.

My understanding: in the US, nationals need not carry ID (while immigrants must carry their docs). Exceptionally, if you are driving a car, then the state requires you to carry your driver’s license. The DL is the property of the state. The fed does not issue driver’s licenses.

There is no such thing as a US federal driver’s license. The quote above refers to “ID issued from the U.S. government,” that would be a passport. A passport is not going to be carried daily inside the issuing country.

Traffic enforcement is not in the jurisdiction of federal ICE agents, is it? Can they really demand your driver’s license under this kind of false pretense of ensuring that drivers are permitted to drive when in fact the real reason they want to see the DL is to snoop on citizenship?

There are some interstate highways that traverse state borders. Does it make a difference whether or not someone is driving on one?

And what about cyclists? If you are cycling and happen incidentally to be carrying a driver’s license (which is not needed to cycle), must you produce it on demand?

It’s bizarre how that doc singles out New York. How does it differ from other states?

what the ACLU says

The ACLU has some advice:

https://www.acluva.org/know-your-rights/stopped-by-police-or-ice/

This is also a bit imprecise. Of course drivers must show their DL to “police”, but what about ICE? They just leave that up in the air.

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[–] jacksilver@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

If you read the article and look at the statements, he doesn't actually ever ask for a lawyer (which was the prosecutions argument). He posits he should get a lawyer if they believe he did it, but didn't actually request a lawyer directly. The lawyer dog element wasn't actually relevant to the actual legal arguments being made, if I read the article correctly.