Thread: Citizen's Arrest

What is legally preventing us from being able to catch illegal aliens and transport them to ICE offices under the citizen's arrest laws if we were to pickup illegal aliens from illegal hiring sites and ask them if they are illegal and if they are inform them they are being placed under citizen's arrest?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen's_arrest

It is a good idean I've pondered evry now and then. I asked my brother in law since he's a policeman and he sais that is a very touchy issue. More than likely, you better have 300,000 to 400,000 dollars you can afford to let go of because there is a lot of legal issues in detaining illegals or any other person. You can get sued for just asking their nationality simpley because you'll be violating his privacy rights. I think we citizens should be able to get certified to do proper citizen's arrests without getting sued along the way. However, citizen's arrests should become a little more lenient so crime can really take a direct hit from law abiding citizens.

You can get sued for just asking their nationality simpley because you'll be violating his privacy rights.

Actually, that is only true in cases where a gov't employee is involved.. Such as a prison gaurd in a jail, they can't ask the prisoners about their nationality, sexual orientation, etc. But a everyday citizen on the street can walk up to anyone and ask them their nationality.

Originally Posted by NoIllegalsAllowed

What is legally preventing us from being able to catch illegal aliens and transport them to ICE offices under the citizen's arrest laws if we were to pickup illegal aliens from illegal hiring sites and ask them if they are illegal and if they are inform them they are being placed under citizen's arrest?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen's_arrest

I've been really tempted to try a citizens arrest. I used to have to wear an ID badge to get in and out of my workplace. One day, when my husband took me to work, I remember yelling through the window one day saying "I forgot my ID" and they scattered all over the place. They were landscapers. It was funny!

I have to say, that's a really good idea. If it's legal, I'm in.

OK, generally to make a citizens arrest, you have to witness the crime. So, how do you know the person is illegal? Although it may not necessarily be illegal for a private citizen to ask another individual about their immigration status, it would not prevent them from filing some kind of law suit against you.

So, you're wealthy and could care less about law suits and besides, your brother in law is a lawyer. Another reason this is a bad idea is that it could be very dangerous. Why risk getting yourself sued and hurt??

I'd leave the arrest process to the professionals.