Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem advised reporters that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers may ask some Americans for proof of citizenship during enforcement operations.

"In every situation we are doing targeted enforcement," said Noem during a press gaggle outside the White House Thursday in response to a reporter asking why some Americans have been asked to provide proof of citizenship in Minnesota.

"If we are on a target, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal that we may be asking who they are and why they’re there and having them validate their identity," Noem said.

Why It Matters

The response frames the issue around the demonstrators who have followed ICE officers during their immigration enforcement operations, which has raised tensions around those operations and came to a fever pitch with the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, who city leaders have said was present during an ICE operation as a legal observer.

The Trump administration has maintained that Good was an agitator, a "deranged lunatic" as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt referred to her, or even a "radical."

What To Know

Protesters and observers of ICE activity in Minneapolis and elsewhere in recent weeks have been asked for proof of ID by federal agents seeking to move them on or release them when held temporarily. Some video has shown citizens reacting angrily to such requests, saying they do not need to prove who they are.

Last January, among President Donald Trump’s list of executive orders was one requiring that immigrants carry proof of their legal status, such as their visa, green card, or other form of ID.

Under Trump’s order, and through the Alien Registration Act, immigrants would be expected to carry I.D. proving their status. If they do not comply, then they face either civil or criminal prosecution, per the order. While the law has been in place—with a few amendments—for decades, it has not always been widely enforced.

Now, with thousands of people protesting against ICE and smaller groups working as legal observers of federal agent activity, U.S. citizens are also coming into close contact with those who may ask for proof of ID under this rule.

When the rule was emphasized by Trump, there were warnings that if all immigrants were supposed to carry documentation, by default all people in the U.S. would have to carry ID so that they were not wrongly identified as an illegal immigrant.

What Is The Fourth Amendment?

...

Noem’s comment Thursday that Americans should be prepared to prove their identity raises questions around whether U.S. citizens have to carry proof of their citizenship at all times.

Under the Fourth Amendment, law enforcement officers cannot demand to see a person’s ID without any reasonable suspicion of a crime or a plan to issue a citation or arrest them. An inability or unwillingness to show ID, however, could lead to an officer arresting an individual for a suspected crime, rather than issue a citation.

The amendment is meant to protect Americans from unreasonable searches or seizures of their property by the government. ICE, the Border Patrol, and other federal agencies fall under that umbrella.

Some scholars and experts have argued that the Fourth Amendment applies to all of those within the U.S, including immigrants being targeted by ICE, and that warrantless searches and arrests breach constitutional rights.

What Is A Legal Observer?

Some civilians who have attended ICE operations and the protests against them consider themselves legal observers.

The term refers to individuals specifically trained to observe and record these scenarios as they play out, ideally from a safe distance. The idea is partly to deter law enforcement from overreaching, using excessive force, and otherwise violating protesters’ rights.

On the ground under the Trump administration, particularly in recent weeks, federal officials have said that legal observers, or those claiming to be, have impeded agents in their work, and that this is why they have at times asked for proof of identity. Some individuals have been arrested for allegedly impeding ICE and Border Patrol agents.

What People Are Saying

Joshua Windham, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, told Newsweek: "Secretary Noem was asked why DHS officers are asking Americans on the street for proof of citizenship. Her response asserts that "in every situation" DHS is doing ‘targeted enforcement,’ and that DHS officers will detain people surrounding the target who fail to identify themselves when asked. There are two issues with that.

"First, the notion that DHS is always doing targeted enforcement is simply false. There are countless reports and videos of DHS officers stopping and questioning people about whom they have no prior information and whom they do not reasonably suspect of violating any law. Suspicion-less stops—when the person is not free to leave—are flatly unconstitutional. Second, American citizens are not legally required to carry proof of citizenship as they go about their daily lives, and that’s no less true when they happen to be near somebody DHS targets. We do not live in a ‘show your papers’ society."

**Avi Meyerstein, founder of The Alliance for Middle East Peace, on X: **"Unlike many places in the world, Americans are not required to carry ID to walk down the street. It’s a freedom many may have taken for granted."

Nevada Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, on X January 14: "The footage of Americans in Minneapolis being forced to provide proof of their citizenship because of the color of their skin or the language they’re speaking is repugnant. This is what the Supreme Court enabled when they allowed the Trump Admin. to pursue racial profiling. It is morally wrong and against the values of this country."

**Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, on Facebook December 15: **"No American is required to CARRY proof of citizenship. We don’t live in a "papers, please" country."

What Happens Next

The Trump administration has remained resolute in continuing what is says are targeted immigration enforcement operations in communities across the U.S., meaning protests and clashes between agents and the public will likely continue.

Update 1/15/26, 11:48 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Update 1/15/26, 12:25 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Joshua Windham.

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