Authority Without Limits Is Not Law

Why “let them do their job” is being used to excuse abuse of power

3 min read

Just now

Listen

There’s a lie spreading right now that sounds reasonable on the surface and collapses the moment you actually look at the law.

It goes like this: “Just let law enforcement do their job. If an officer tells you to stop or get out of your car, you have to comply.”

That statement is being used very deliberately to excuse what U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is doing in public spaces across the country.

And it is wrong.

Not misleading. Not incomplete. Wrong.

ICE is not general law enforcement

ICE is immigration enforcement. Their authority comes from immigration law, which is a civil federal system that applies to non-citizens who are removable. That authority does not extend to the public at large.

ICE is not:

traffic police
crowd control
protest enforcement
general criminal law enforcement

They do not get to issue commands to everyone simply because they are federal agents. Their power is narrow. It is conditional. And it has limits.

“Reasonable suspicion” isn’t whatever they decide it is

Under immigration law, ICE can only detain someone when there is specific legal cause to believe that person is: One — not a U.S. citizen, and two — removable under immigration law.

That does not include:

Standing near an enforcement action
filming
protesting
refusing to answer questions
being present in public space
“looking like” someone they want

And it never includes U.S. citizens. Citizens are not subject to immigration law. There is no grey area here.

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When ICE detains citizens anyway, or detains anyone without lawful cause, that isn’t enforcement. It’s unlawful seizure.

What’s happening right now ignores those limits entirely

People aren’t reacting to hypotheticals. They’re reacting to what they can see.

Agents showing up in unmarked vehicles. Faces covered. No names, only numbers. No warrants produced. No clear identification.

And then demands for compliance as if authority alone makes the order lawful. It doesn’t.

When force replaces justification, legality stops being the standard.

“Just comply” isn’t how the law works

Compliance only applies to lawful orders. An unlawful order does not become lawful because it’s delivered by someone with a badge.

Federal employment does not erase constitutional limits. And authority does not exist simply because someone claims it.

When ICE gives commands outside its legal scope, especially to citizens, there is no automatic obligation to comply, because there is no lawful authority backing the order.

Telling people otherwise isn’t about safety. It’s about conditioning obedience.

This is why people are out there

People aren’t showing up because they want chaos. They’re showing up because they can see the disconnect between what the law says and what’s being done in its name. Because oversight has thinned, accountability has stalled, and power is being exercised first and justified later, if at all.

Calling that out isn’t anti-law. It’s the opposite.

Where this actually leads

The law isn’t meant to expand power. It’s meant to restrain it. Authority isn’t supposed to be assumed; it’s supposed to be demonstrated. And enforcement isn’t supposed to operate on intimidation or convenience.

When those lines blur, when force precedes justification, something fundamental starts to erode. Not overnight. Quietly. Incrementally. In ways that are easy to dismiss until they’re no longer isolated.

That’s why this moment matters. Not because everyone agrees on immigration. Not because every incident looks the same. But because the standard for when power can seize someone is being lowered in real time, and questioning it is being framed as the problem. It isn’t.

What’s being challenged here isn’t law enforcement. It’s the idea that authority no longer has to prove itself. That legality can be replaced with force, and restraint with obedience.

And once that becomes normal, it doesn’t stay contained.

For more stories about power, law, and what happens when authority stops proving itself, follow Fourth Wave. Have you got a story or poem that focuses on women or other disempowered groups? Submit to the Wave!