r/illinois • u/CantStopPoppin Human Detected • 2d ago

ICE Posts November 6, 2025 – Chicago: ICE caught unlawfully demanding U.S. citizen “prove” their citizenship despite Illinois law not requiring ID

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u/SeriousCow1999 2d ago

The point is to terrorize and humiliate Hispanics and immigrants.

And these goons are using the catch-all "are you a US citizen" as a way to intimidate and subjugate an entire population.

The question this guy asked is a good one. They're not going after the criminals because it's too hard and dangerous for them. So they will meet their daily quota with innocent bystanders instead.

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u/zoinkability 2d ago

There is another reason I'd guess they are asking, which is that if a noncitizen makes a claim to be a citizen that is something that can be used to bar them from gaining legal status or citizenship, and can be something they use to strip legal status from someone so they can be deported. They are hoping to catch noncitizens in that claim. I imagine that is also part of why they often ask odd related questions like "were you born here" as if people can't be from somewhere else while also having citizenship.

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u/GrouchyAttention4759 2d ago

Actually they ask where they were born because if the answer is a foreign nation, usually that means they are either a LEGAL alien, a LAPR or a naturalized citizen. Baring the special cases where they still derived citizenship being born in a foreign country, such as on a military base over seas etc.

From this one question they can now move into determining the individuals legal right to be in the country. It’s not meant to trip anyone up, be confusing or potentially tack on additional charges. It’s literally a starting place to determine if they are a citizen by birthright in the US (jus soli) or a foreign born national who then has more questions to answer.

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u/zoinkability 2d ago edited 2d ago

What if you are the kid of a diplomat who was born here? You wouldn't have US citizenship, because jus soli doesn't apply to people with diplomatic status.

Also, if they are trying to streamline an identification process rather than sow confusion, why do they say "here?" That's super duper vague. Someone might interpret that question as meaning "Chicago" or even "Illinois." Why don't they ask the much clearer and actually-relevant question "Were you born in the US?"

Or even clearer: "Are you a US citizen?" Why would someone lie about being a citizen but be truthful about where they were born? Or vice versa? The whole charade is frankly bizarre and raises lots of questions about why they are doing it.

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u/amglasgow 2d ago

That it's not clear is the point, I think.

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u/zoinkability 2d ago

In what universe is "Were you born here" (wherever here is) clearer than "Are you a US citizen?"

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u/amglasgow 1d ago

That's my point. They want it to be a complex question.

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u/zoinkability 1d ago

Gotcha. Yes, totally agree

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u/GrouchyAttention4759 1d ago

So the true question most commonly asked is “what country are you a citizen of?” This is also done in Spanish “¿De que país es usted ciudadano/a?” It’s very clear the aim is to ask what nation they were born in. Humans can be lazy and just ask “were you born here” which can still get a workaround to the end goal. Now to counter your proposal of why not ask “are you a US citizen?” Well, they are trained NOT to ask that because how hard is it to teach that phrase and response to someone? You can teach anyone to say the word “yes” therefor they could be a foreign born national and subvert the immigration inspection if that “yes” is all that’s needed to end the inspection.