By Judith Roberts *
As an attorney I’m deeply alarmed by an incident that occurred just this week and feel compelled to share it—to raise awareness of the legal and constitutional crossroads we are rapidly approaching.
A co-worker of mine (who is a judge), traveled by train from Montana to North Dakota for work this week. The train made a stop in Havre, MT, where ICE agents—armed and dressed in full military-style tactical gear—boarded the train.
They walked the full length of the train and questioned every single passenger about their citizenship status. According to the conductor, who has worked nearly 40 years on that route, this was a first. In all his decades of service, federal agents have never boarded his train like this.
This is not a hypothetical. This is not a scene from a dystopian film. This happened this week to my colleague, on U.S. soil, to U.S. citizens, legal residents, and foreign tourists here on holiday, without a warrant, without probable cause—based solely on geography.
Under current law ICE has expanded authority to operate within 100 miles of any border. But HOW that authority is being interpreted and exercised has chilling implications for civil liberties, freedom of movement, and equal protection under the law.
This isn’t about politics—it’s about the erosion of rights we’ve taken for granted, and the slow normalization of military-style policing tactics in everyday spaces. Even if technically permissible, these actions reflect a disturbing shift in the balance between civil liberties and governmental authority. The normalization of militarized immigration enforcement in public spaces, without individualized suspicion, risks setting dangerous precedents that erode the freedoms we are sworn to uphold.
This is not about ideology—it is about the integrity of our legal system. I am compelled to speak up because there is no justification for circumventing the very rights and principles that define our democracy.
The question is not whether you “have something to hide.” The question is how much unchecked authority we’re willing to allow before we can no longer call this a free society.
* Judith Roberts is Chief judge at Fort Berthold District Court: MHA Nation
23 comments:
Thank you for speaking out. We need people with your protections and privilege to raise these points about impending (or already arrived, really) fascism here in America.
Now we are no longer a free society. Now is the time
The closing statement of this article is, "The question is how much unchecked authority we’re willing to allow before we can no longer call this a free society."
IMO, this is no longer a free society.
Thank you for this report. Every example of this intrusion and intimidation tactic needs to be shared widely
I'm not legally required to answer questions or show ID if ICE pulls shit like this am I? Does the answer change depending on how close to a border I am? What about a coastline, but not a land border with Canada or Mexico?
You’ best think about your answer in case you are similarly questioned about your citizenship and whether or not you can prove it; Regardless of where you are confronted.
You have three choices:
1. Keep quiet (you don’t need to answer them). 2. Pull out your passport card (indicating US citizenship) and tell them to move on or
3) Tell them that since they’re a long way from an American border crossing point, They do not have jurisdiction- You don’t have to answer their questions.
These Gestapo like tactics need to stop.
Agree. Scary as hell as it is hell for our nation. How so many voted for this administration and still applaud illegal immigration policy like no due process and off-shoring people who have committed no crimes to a prison without any rights whatsoever for how long is unfathomable to me. When will it stop?
Headline, Montana: I.C.E. ADOPTS STORMTROOPER GESTAPO TACTICS. REIGN OF TERROR BEGINS.
I agree with all of your comments except for the new America part. This has been going for some time now and while I'm delighted that this the first time you've encountered it that's just your good luck.
That scares the hell out of me! I’ll be protesting tomorrow in Santa Rosa, CA. Look for a protest near you and go take a stand.
I’m just curious. Did anyone question the ice agents? I’m sure it was frightening. We have to stand against this sort of thing. I am scared at what it’s all going to come to. If we take a stand and get arrested will our rights be respected?
I am highly confident that I would refuse to answer their questions. At my stage in life, I have little to lose, and would consider it personally satisfying to expend some of their resources. Do what you can with the resources available to you.
Wow. I'm amazed every day by the lawless that has taken control over our country
Am I, a U.S. citizen, obliged to answer such a question from ICE? Can I remain silent or say I refuse to answer?
Reminds me of what the Gestapo did in 1940's Germany.. Walking the length of the train, asking for everybody's papers. We've seen it in just about every World War II movie that's out there. We are witnessing Dark Times & unchecked power,.not only coming from Trump but also it seems from ice agents, border guards etc. becoming drunk on power & emboldened by Trump himself who, as we know has brought out the worst of human behavior unmatched by only himself.
I want every "agent" stripped of any authority, and for them to experience the same treatment that they inflicted on the citizens of our country and to serve no less than a month in a supermax. They are so ready to play he-man bs... they deserve to know what it feels like.
More reason for continuing regular #Nationaldayofprotest
Thanks for sharing. That this is occurring strikes me as disturbingly distopian. I travelled in East Germany in 1986 and they stopped the train to show us our papers. So surreal that this is the US now!!! Resist!
My first observation: there are no comments because none of us want the repercussions of posting our names on any site now because REAL freedom of speech has Been altered by this administration. We’ve all seen the “born in USA, she received notice that she has 24 hours to leave the country” post. My second observation: oh good, as I start to post it automatically picks “anonymous” as my name. My third observation: I am 68. I never in 68 years before have ever felt a desire to investigate leaving this country, and if I was single and rented an apartment I would seriously consider it. Somehow we have lost sight of logic, somehow (including possible ejection fraud) all seven swing states went to T with a huge % of “bullet ballots” (look it up), but also somehow we have so lost our vision that people stayed home and didn’t vote. Why? I’m a guy and I voted for her. Why were people so easily convinced of lies? I heard so many from R’s. “DEI.” “Slept her way to the top.” Like somehow lies unproven completely balanced out all we know about T and his nature, his felonies, his indictments, his lying continuously. And the machine of lies tarnished enough that people stayed home or voted for him. I do not understand it. Where is this island of pedophiles? See? It disappears now. Amazing.
This week ICE entered local trains asking people to show their identification. Like the Gestapo, a local police force, ICE tramples peoples's rights at first in small ways. They had no right to do this. People had already showed their IDs when they bought a ticket. I have not heard of one person standing up to them, but it's a small story, I hope there were some who called them no their lack of power at that time.
Thank you for writing this. It is very disturbing. I'd encourage you to create an account on Truth Social and share it there. Folks there need to hear this. I had an account for a couple of months but eventually couldn't take the hatred flying around there.
Thank you for sharing about this. Incredibly alarming. What was the judge's own encounter like? Did they inquire anything of the ICE agents? I'm interested to learn how they were trained for this.
My God, What’s Next ?!? You are exactly right Judge Judith Roberts - how much more are we willing to allow ?? And even more importantly, why are our elected leaders continuing to look the other way, while one man who is play acting as a president is destroying our country, along with his circus of unqualified cohorts ?!
Totally shocking that we have to now be Afraid of being on that train route while traveling for work or pleasure. The insanity is hitting too close to home in so many ways. We should not be made to live in fear in America - Land of the Free. I never imagined seeing anything this scary in the country that I love and that my husband fought for in his service to our country. We must stay vigilant against these inequities.
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