Is Gov. Ferguson Playing Fast and Loose With Immigration Laws?

Gov. Bob Ferguson has put some information on his governor's Facebook page, that would lead the average person to believe illegal aliens have the 'same' rights as legals, but The Heritage Foundation differs.

  Ferguson's claims are misleading

Ferguson claims 'you' (the person being detained) has the right to be silent, you can ask if you are free to leave, you can ask to see their court order, you can ask for their "information" (what is that?).

Some of those are benign, and meaningless.  The Heritage Foundation says illegals do have some of the same rights afforded to citizens when it comes to criminal proceedings or charges, but immigration is a civil matter, not criminal.  Ferguson claims you have a right to speak to a lawyer, but the Foundation says this:

"...critics of the Trump Administration’s enforcement of federal immigration law, including members of the public, the media, and Congress, have made misleading claims about the due process rights that apply in immigration proceedings. Those who claim that non-citizens, referred to in our nation’s immigration laws as aliens, are entitled to the full panoply of constitutional rights enjoyed by American citizens are simply wrong and fail to differentiate between criminal prosecutions and immigration proceedings, which are civil matters."

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Also, according to The Heritage Foundation:

"... federal immigration officers do not need a warrant issued by a judge before arresting and detaining aliens and why aliens are not entitled to be advised of their Miranda rights or to the assistance of a government-appointed lawyer during their deportation proceedings.4"

Courts have also upheld what is called Expedited Removal, which severely limits their access to Federal courts and administrative processes. The Immigration and Nationality Act not only works at the border, but can also be applied to persons already in the US.

Despite what Ferguson claims, a person does NOT have automatic right to speak to an attorney, and these limitations would also apply to the alleged right to speak to the appropriate consulate.  Ferguson appears to be trying to cloud the issue without definitive legal precedent.

For more definitive information from The Heritage Foundation, click here.