U.S. Citizen Told “You Have No Rights” During Immigration Arrest Speaks Out

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An 18-year-old U.S. citizen has come forward with a harrowing account of being told, “You have no rights here,” during a violent immigration arrest in Florida, raising serious questions over law enforcement’s expansion into immigration enforcement.

Kenny Laynez‑Ambrosio, a high school senior born and raised in the U.S., was pulled over by Florida Highway Patrol on 2 May while riding in a van with his mother and two friends to work in landscaping in North Palm Beach. The stop, which Laynez-Ambrosio says was due to overcrowding in the front seat of the vehicle, escalated after officers identified two of the passengers as undocumented and called in U.S. Border Patrol.

Video footage recorded by Laynez‑Ambrosio shows agents in tactical gear detaining the three men. In that footage, one officer is heard telling him: “You’ve got no rights here. You’re a migo, brother,” despite Laynez-Ambrosio repeatedly identifying himself as a U.S. citizen.

Laynez‑Ambrosio later told The Guardian: “It didn’t need to go down like that. If they knew that my people were undocumented, they could’ve just kindly taken them out of the car and arrested them. It hurt me bad to see my friends like that. Because they’re just good people, trying to earn an honest living.” 

The interaction quickly turned confrontational. The video appears to capture one individual being tased, another placed in a chokehold, and officers joking after the fact about incentives, one even quipping: “Just remember, you can smell that … $30,000 bonus.” Laynez-Ambrosio was held for six hours at a Customs and Border Protection facility before release.

While U.S. Customs and Border Protection told CBS News the arrestees had “resisted arrest” and defended agents’ safety concerns, it neglected to acknowledge that a U.S. citizen had been detained in the incident.

Florida is poised to deploy over 1,800 additional state and local law enforcement officers to take part in immigration enforcement under a sweeping crackdown. Advocates fear such broad expansion will lead to more cases like Laynez‑Ambrosio’s, exacerbating fear and distrust among immigrant communities.

Mariana Blanco, director at the Guatemala Maya Center, which assisted Laynez-Ambrosi, warned: “Laws … are no longer being respected. They’re no longer being upheld. Deputising these agents so quickly … is going to bring severe consequences.”

Laynez‑Ambrosio’s case is not isolated. Civil rights groups and journalists have documented multiple incidents where U.S. citizens, often of Hispanic descent, have been mistakenly detained under Trump-era immigration policies. In one notable case, Juan Carlos Lopez‑Gomez was held despite presenting proof of birthright citizenship, under a controversial Florida law later blocked by federal courts.

These events underscore the perils of blurring the lines between state policing and immigration enforcement. Policies that deputise local officers without proper safeguards risk serious civil liberties violations and undermine trust in public servants.

With weak political leadership on immigration in the UK’s Labour government and no effective pushback, the U.S. remains the focal point for immigration policy battles. Laynez‑Ambrosio’s story should serve as a cautionary tale that enforcement zeal without protections can lead to distressing breaches of constitutional rights.