TAYLORSVILLE, Utah — A video posted to social media on Wednesday shows Utah residents being stopped by what appears to be federal law enforcement officials.
Alex and his crew had stopped at a 7-Eleven in Taylorsville on Wednesday morning. "We were just chilling on the concrete, sitting down, enjoying our snacks.” The foreman who was inside said he was approached by people asking about where was from. He answered, from Mexico.
"We didn’t think much of it when we left 7-Eleven,” said Alex. “The truck lit us up behind us, and one of them got in front of us and they blocked off the road basically and we're letting people go through, and they were all ready in case we were ready to run."
Alex started recording video of what was going on. People who he said identified themselves as federal border patrol agents, asked them for identification and proof of residence.
"I’ve heard of a couple situations like this, and I never thought it would happen to me,” added Alex. He said it was a quick interaction and they were ultimately let go. "We did nothing wrong."
ICE escalates arrests of Utahns not accused of crimes:
Alex said that we asked why they were pulled over, the person who identified himself as an agent said it was because the foreman said he was from Mexico.
Alex said he is an American citizen, was born in the US, is a son of immigrants and has a young family. He is. worried about thses instances happening around him. “I come from Hispanic parents, and they came here to work hard to give me a better future,” said Alex. “It hurts.”
He hopes this doesn’t happen to anyone else. "It shouldn’t just be because of our skin color, or where we're from,” added Alex. “It just didn’t feel right."
"At what point do we stop, at what point do we say that’s not okay?” asked attorney Mark Alvarez.
'Absolute hell hole': Private prisons set to house ICE detainees bring new set of problems:
Jesus Perez owns Prime Auto in West Valley City, and said his son, who is an American Citizen, has been stopped a couple of times by the police and questioned about his status.
"It’s scary to go to Walmart to buy, like, to go out to get gas. It’s scary. It’s sad, it’s very sad,” said Perez.
Alvarez has spent time in different states around the country and understands why citizens have become worried.
"Some other areas of the country, ICE is carrying out operations and going after people who are here without documents, without regard to whether or not those people have criminal records,” the attorney shared.
Alvarez added that, for now, it would be a good idea for people to keep their paperwork on them in case they are pulled over and forced to show identification.
“I do advise people who are lawful, permanent residents to carry, if not the alien registration card itself, or the green card, at least a copy."
FOX 13 News has been in contact with someone with US Customs and Border Protection. They are looking into this case to see if border patrol agents were operating in this area.
