“Just because I’m a man of color and I’m Hispanic, I was made to feel as though I was a criminal,” claims Elzon Lemus of Brentwood, 23. Elzon Lemus of Brentwood, 23, is claiming that he was racially profiled and illegally detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents while on his way to work, despite being a United States citizen. Lemus, who is Hispanic, was a passenger in a van on his way to work on Tuesday, June 3, when the vehicle was pulled over at approximately 7:30 a.m. ICE and HSI agents reportedly asked Lemus to present his identification, despite not having a warrant or articulable probable cause; he refused, citing a violation of his constitutional rights. At that point, authorities purportedly stopped Lemus from recording the encounter with his cell phone, forcibly removed him from the vehicle, and placed him into handcuffs while they retrieved his ID from his wallet. 20 minutes later, the ICE and HSI agents had confirmed Lemus' identity and released him; he is now represented by civil rights attorney Frederick Brewington, and at a press conference on Thursday, June 12, claimed he was wrongfully singled out based on his race. “I didn’t commit anything and I wasn’t driving, so as a passenger, I don’t need to show them,” he said. “Just because I’m a man of color and I’m Hispanic, I was made to feel as though I was a criminal.” His plight has gained support from New York Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ramos - Brentwood is part of the district he represents - and he, along with Brewington, are demanding that an investigation be conducted into the actions of the ICE and HSI agents' actions that day, claiming that Lemus' civil rights were violated. Assemblyman Ramos, whose district includes Brentwood, quickly stepped in after hearing about the incident from a constituent. In a series of impassioned Facebook posts Friday, Ramos accused the agents of “blatant racial profiling” and vowed not to stay silent. The traffic stop involved no local Nassau County authorities. Lemus' accusations come as more and more members of the public are holding differing opinions over how the administration of President Donald Trump is handling the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants in the United States, with ICE severely ramping up raids and detentions of people suspected of being in the country illegally.