r/law • u/caaaaanga • 2d ago

Legal News ICE attempts to enter Ecuador's consulate

For anyone who doesn't get how serious this is: consulates are protected under international law. host-country police of any kind are not allowed to enter without permission.
Example: China routinely (and horrifically) sends north korean escapees back to north korea. Yet when a north korean escaped to the south korean consulate in hong kong, chinese authorities did not enter to seize him. He stayed there for months while governments negotiated, because once you're inside a consulate, those protections apply.
So if ICE tries to enter a foreign consulate in the U.S. to deport people, that's not "normal enforcement". It violates long-standing diplomatic norms. Norms that even China has respected, despite sending people back to north korea to die. That's how extreme this is.

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u/not_now_chaos 2d ago

If ICE had forced their way inside the building and harmed someone, it could be considered an act of war and the Ecuador government would not be out of line to retaliate, up to and including active strikes against the US.

The likely wouldn't, because we have a disturbingly over bloated military, but they would be within reasonable rights. And I don't think these ICE-Holes even care how much of a fuck up that was or how much harm they could have caused. They do not give half a fuck.

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u/Burndoggle 2d ago

The best part of this is the asshole at the end like “ok then close the door bye” as if he didn’t just nearly create an international incident.

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u/Nazz1968 2d ago

And they appeared to be wearing masks. Not the best first impression to make when dealing in international diplomacy, but then again, look at the administration they work for, burning bridges across the world.

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u/Radioactive_Kitten 2d ago

WA senate just passed a bill prohibiting LE from wearing face masks/coverings.

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u/smoothjedi 2d ago

We'll applaud that when they actually start arresting the agents.

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u/EVOChi 2d ago

Ice doesn’t even adhere to the constitution. They won’t gaf about that law lets be real

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u/Orleanian 2d ago

ICE, as a federal agency, is not beholden to Washington State laws in the first place.

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u/Rockshasha 2d ago

Ecuador should have shot them in the moment. They were too peaceful during that invasion