Elzon Lemus of Brentwood says his civil rights were violated when ICE agents detained him during a traffic stop in Westbury—despite the fact that he is a U.S. citizen.
Lemus who was born and raised in the United States, says he was on his way to work on June 3 when ICE agents pulled over the vehicle he was riding in. he was pulled out of the van, placed in handcuffs, and detained for about 25 minutes while the agent searched him.
An civil rights attorney representing Lemus, says the incident is a clear case of racial profiling and civil rights violations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump spars with California’s governor over immigration enforcement, Republicans in Congress called other Democratic governors to the Capitol on Thursday to question them over policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sat in front of large, full-color posters showing men who they said were in the country without legal permission when they were arrested for crimes in Illinois, Minnesota and New York — home of the governors testifying before the committee.
Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer began the hearing by introducing the family of a young woman killed in a hit-and-run traffic crash in Illinois, suggesting its sanctuary policies had facilitated the illegal presence of the driver of the other vehicle.
“Sanctuary polices do not protect Americans, they protect criminal illegal aliens,” Comer said.
Republican Congress members clashed repeatedly with the Democratic governors, often recounting descriptions of violent crimes allegedly committed by immigrants in the U.S. illegally who were not previously detained by local police.
At one point, Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury, of New Mexico, interjected to denounce the “theatrics.”
“Welcome everyone to the Oversight reality TV show,” Stansbury said. “I know Mr. Trump loves loves himself some good TV, and today is not disappointing.”
There’s no legal definition of a sanctuary jurisdiction, but the term generally refers to governments with policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Courts previously have upheld the legality of such laws.
But Trump’s administration has sued Colorado, Illinois, New York and several cities — including Chicago and Rochester, New York — asserting their policies violate the U.S. Constitution or federal law.
Illinois, Minnesota and New York also were among 14 states and hundreds of cities and counties recently listed by the Department of Homeland Security as “sanctuary jurisdictions defying federal immigration law.” The list later was removed from the department’s website after criticism that it errantly included some local governments that support Trump’s immigration policies.
As Trump steps up immigration enforcement, some Democratic-led states have intensified their resistance by strengthening state laws restricting cooperation with immigration agents. Following clashes between crowds of protesters and immigration agents in Los Angeles, Trump deployed the National Guard to protect federal buildings and agents, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused Trump of declaring “a war” on the underpinnings of American democracy.
“As we speak, an American city has been militarized over the objections of their governor,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “At the outset, I just want to say that this is a flagrant abuse of power.”
Some of the most fiery exchanges involved Hochul and Republicans from her home state. Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has been named as a potential 2026 gubernatorial candidate in New York, described instances in which she said people were raped, molested and burned alive by immigrants who had entered or remained in the U.S. illegally.
“You are not advocating on behalf of these victims, you are shielding illegals,” Stefanik said to Hochul while interrupting the governor’s attempted responses.
Hochul said the crimes were “horrific” and “heartbreaking” and insisted “we cooperate with ICE; we cooperate with law enforcement” in criminal cases.
Republican Rep. Nick Langworthy, of New York, later implied that Hochul’s policies were partly to blame for the death of University of Georgia student Laken Riley, who was killed last year by a Venezuelan man who had entered the U.S. illegally. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the man had been arrested by New York police in 2023 but was released before ICE could ask New York officials to hold him.
Gubernatorial orders prohibit New York officials from inquiring about or disclosing a person’s immigration status to federal authorities, unless required by law.
Hochul said law enforcement officers still can cooperate with federal immigration authorities when people are convicted of or under investigation for crimes. Since she took office in 2021, Hochul said the state has initiated the transfer of more than 1,300 incarcerated noncitizens to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the completion of their state sentences.
“What we don’t do is civil immigration enforcement — that’s the federal government’s job,” Hochul said.
The House Oversight Committee has long been a partisan battleground, and in recent months it has turned its focus to immigration policy. Thursday’s hearing follows a similar one in March in which the Republican-led committee questioned the Democratic mayors of Chicago, Boston, Denver and New York about sanctuary policies.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the first to testify, rejected the assertion that Minnesota is a sanctuary state. It has no statewide law protecting immigrants in the U.S. illegally from deportation, though Minneapolis and St. Paul both restrict the extent to which police and city employees can cooperate with immigration enforcement.
“Enforcing immigration law is not the role of local and state governments,” said Walz, who sent out a political fundraising email touting his congressional testimony.
Some laws signed by Walz have secured benefits for people regardless of immigration status. But at least one of those is getting rolled back. The Minnesota Legislature, meeting in a special session, passed legislation Monday to repeal a 2023 law that allowed adults in the U.S. illegally to be covered under a state-run health care program for the working poor. Walz insisted on maintaining eligibility for children who aren’t in the country legally,
Heavily Democratic Chicago has been a sanctuary city for decades. In 2017, then-Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, signed legislation creating statewide protections for immigrants. The Illinois Trust Act prohibits police from searching, arresting or detaining people solely because of their immigration status. But it allows local authorities to hold people for federal immigration authorities if there’s a valid criminal warrant.
Gov. JB Pritzker, who succeeded Rauner in 2019, said that violent criminals “have no place on our streets, and if they are undocumented, I want them out of Illinois and out of our country.”
“Illinois follows the law. But let me be clear, we expect the federal government to follow the law too,” added Pritzker, who has been among Trump’s most outspoken opponents and is considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate. “We will not participate in abuses of power. We will not violate court orders.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein ‘s sex crimes retrial came to a disjointed end Thursday as the jury foreperson declined to deliberate and the judge declared a mistrial on a remaining rape charge, a day after a split verdict on other charges in the landmark #MeToo-era case.
The outcome positions the ex-studio boss for a third New York trial — prosecutors said they’re ready to retry the rape count — even as he faces a new sentencing on his sexual assault conviction.
Weinstein, 73, denies all the charges. The Oscar-winning movie producer had a blank, drained expression as court officers escorted him out Thursday in his wheelchair.
His lawyer said he plans to appeal.
“What happened in that jury room was absolutely improper,” attorney Arthur Aidala said outside court.
Weinstein is due back in court July 2 for discussion of retrial and sentencing dates. His first-degree criminal sex act conviction carries the potential for up to 25 years in prison, while the unresolved third-degree rape charge is punishable by up to four years — less than he already has served.
He’s been behind bars since his initial conviction in 2020, and he later also was sentenced to prison in a separate California case, which he’s appealing.
In Wednesday’s partial verdict, Weinstein was convicted of one criminal sex act charge but acquitted of another. Both concerned accusations of forcing oral sex on women in 2006. Those verdicts still stand.
While the jury of seven women and five men was unanimous on those decisions, it got stuck on the rape charge involving another woman, Jessica Mann. The hairstylist and actor testified at length — as she did in 2020 — that Weinstein raped her amid a years-long consensual relationship.
“I will never give up on myself and making sure my voice – and the truth – is heard,” Mann said in a statement Thursday, confirming she’s ready to testify yet again.
Jury-room strains started leaking into public view Friday, when a juror asked to be excused because he felt another was being treated unfairly. Then Monday, the foreperson complained that other jurors were pushing people to change their minds and talking about information beyond the charges.
The man raised concerns again Wednesday, telling the judge he felt afraid in the jury room because another juror was yelling at him for sticking to his opinion and suggested the foreperson would “see me outside.”
When Judge Curtis Farber asked the foreperson Thursday whether he was willing to return to deliberations, the man said said no. And with that, Farber declared a mistrial on the rape count.
Two jurors disputed the foreperson’s account as they left court. One, Chantan Holmes, said that no one mistreated the man and that she believed he was just tired of deliberating.
“We all felt bad. Because we really wanted to do this. We put our hearts and souls in here,” she said.
Another jury member, who identified himself only by his juror number, said the deliberations were contentious, but respectful.
Weinstein’s 2020 conviction seemed to cement the downfall of one of Hollywood’s most powerful men in a pivotal moment for the # MeToo movement. The anti-sexual-misconduct campaign was fueled by allegations against him.
But that conviction was overturned last year, and the case was sent back for retrial in the same Manhattan courthouse.
Weinstein’s accusers said he exploited his Tinseltown influence to dangle career help, get them alone and then trap and force them into sexual encounters.
“These hopeful young women were trying to follow their dreams in a world that he controlled,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, said at a news conference Thursday.
Weinstein’s defense portrayed his accusers as Hollywood wannabes and hangers-on who willingly hooked up with him to court opportunity, then later said they were victimized to collect settlement funds and #MeToo approbation.
Miriam Haley, the producer and production assistant whom Weinstein was convicted — twice, now — of sexually assaulting, said outside court Wednesday that the new verdict “gives me hope.”
Accuser Kaja Sokola also called it “a big win for everyone,” even though Weinstein was acquitted of forcibly performing oral sex on her when she was a 19-year-old fashion model. Her allegation was added to the case after the retrial was ordered.
Holmes, the juror who spoke outside court, said the panel all felt Sokola “wasn’t credible.”
The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they agree to be identified. Haley, Mann and Sokola did so.