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(Credit: AP Photo/Russell Contreras)

As President Donald Trump has intensified the immigration debate with his inflammatory rhetoric and rapid increase of federal raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, it’s still important that law-abiding U.S. citizens are well aware of their own rights. A college professor sought to teach an important lesson for those who are stopped at Border Patrol checkpoints.

Angus Johnston, a City University of New York professor, sent out several tweets about how documented citizens can refuse to comply with requests to provide proof of papers. The tweets came after a video showed U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents requesting proof of citizenship from passengers on a Greyhound bus in Florida.

.@CustomsBorder got on a Greyhound bus yesterday at 4:30pm in Fort Lauderdale and asked every passenger for their papers and to prove citizenship. Proof of citizenship is NOT required to ride a bus! For more information about your rights, call our hotline 1-888-600-5762 pic.twitter.com/rWJn61o8VP

— FLImmigrantCoalition (@FLImmigrant) January 20, 2018

“If you’re documented and don’t have any warrants, the time to think about whether and how you’d refuse to comply with such requests is now,” Johnston advised in a tweet.

If you're documented and don't have any warrants, the time to think about whether and how you'd refuse to comply with such requests is now. https://t.co/o5cPSYI3YJ

— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) January 21, 2018

He explained, “Even asking questions about whether you’re required to comply will slow the process down and make others aware of their rights.”

Even asking questions about whether you're required to comply will slow the process down and make others aware of their rights.

— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) January 21, 2018

Johnston went on to explain that the NYPD sets up checkpoints at the entrances of subways from time to time, but that they’re considered “voluntary.”

Cops can stop you going in the subway if you refuse, but most stations have multiple entrances, so evading is easy. It's compliance theater.

— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) January 21, 2018

Johnston shared his own experience, in which he said “no thanks” upon being asked at a subway entrance to have his belongings searched.

Last time they stopped me, I hadn't seen their table, so my response was instinctive: I just said "no thanks," and turned around. They didn't resist.

— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) January 21, 2018

What's safe for me—a tall, graying, white, male, non-disabled college teacher—may not be safe for you. So be careful. (But you know that already.)

— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) January 21, 2018

Johnston encouraged others to prepare themselves for similar scenarios and strategize how to act ahead of time.

What are your legal rights? What's (probably) safe to say and do? What will slow them down? What will be visible? What will make a good story?

— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) January 21, 2018

The roundups are getting worse. The checkpoints are getting worse. The harassment is getting worse. The things we were worried would happen are happening.

— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) January 21, 2018

Johnston closed with a message about unreasonable searches and the role the fourth amendment plays in ensuring individual liberties.

If we don't have the freedom to tell the cops to stay out of our pockets, our homes, our documents, our stuff, we are not free.

— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) January 21, 2018

Most of us, in our daily lives, would get along fine without the First Amendment. The government doesn't actually care much about what we say. But the Fourth Amendment is a different story.

— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) January 21, 2018

Resistance isn't just marches, and it isn't just slogans, and it isn't just organizing. It's how we live our lives every single day. Where you can, when you can, how you can: Resist.

— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) January 21, 2018

Oh, and since we started with an ID check in the border zone, let's end there, too. Here's the @ACLU: https://t.co/K4Zw5RKBvT

— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) January 21, 2018

Johnston’s advice comes amidst widespread immigration crackdowns under the Trump administration. Recently, an undocumented man who was unable to qualify for DACA was separated from his family and deported from the U.S., despite living here for 30 years, as Salon has previously reported. Under Trump, immigration arrests have skyrocketed, with the arrest of noncriminals seeing the largest increase.

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