But since AI is fine to use now here ya go.
1. ICE’s Authority Comes From Specific Federal Statutes
The primary federal statute that defines what ICE officers are empowered to do is 8 U.S.C. § 1357, which grants immigration officers authority to:
- Interrogate someone believed to be an alien about their status.
- Arrest people believed to be violating immigration law under narrowly defined circumstances (e.g., probable cause to believe someone is in the country illegally and may escape before a warrant can be obtained).
What this statute does not do:

It does not give ICE the power to control public movement, manage crowds, or clear pedestrians generally.
ICE’s federal authority is tied to immigration enforcement tasks, not broad public order functions.

2. Federal Law Does Not
Grant ICE Police-Type Power Over Public Spaces
Unlike state and local police — who are given police power by state law to regulate behavior, enforce order, and control traffic or crowds — ICE has no such “police power.” Under U.S. constitutional law, general public order authority belongs primarily to state and local governments under the Tenth Amendment. Federal agencies like ICE have limited law-enforcement powers that must be grounded in specific statute.
Federal immigration statutes do not include a provision that allows ICE to:
- Issue general “move along” orders to bystanders
- Clear pedestrians from public streets
- Disperse crowds in the absence of an immediate safety threat tied to their enforcement activity
There is no clause in 8 U.S.C. § 1357 or similar federal law authorizing ICE to perform these functions.

3. ICE Must Still Comply With Constitutional Limits
Even though ICE has authority to arrest people under federal immigration law:
- Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures still apply in public spaces. Federal agents must have reasonable suspicion or probable cause depending on the level of interaction.
- ICE cannot just detain or command movement of random pedestrians without a legitimate, lawful enforcement reason and constitutional basis.
This is the same constitutional standard that applies to state/local police.

4. ICE’s Legal Limits Are Recognized by Legal Analysts
Legal overviews confirm that:
- ICE does not have general police authority like local police do.
- Its powers are limited to what federal statutes and the Constitution expressly authorize.
Nothing in the statutory framework grants ICE free-form authority to clear people from public roads or order someone to move simply because they are present in a public space.