ICE agents surrounded a Marietta-born man's work truck at an Alpharetta gas station on Wednesday, July 29, and repeatedly demanded documentation, according to cell phone video of the encounter first reported by 11Alive.
Ronney Cipriano said he and a coworker were sitting in the truck when federal agents approached and began asking for papers. He held up his Georgia-issued ID and told them he was born and raised in Marietta.
"I just felt super-targeted, man," Cipriano told 11Alive.
Cipriano believes the agents singled him out because he was in a work truck and because of the color of his skin. He recorded the exchange on his cell phone.
Immigration attorney: agents need reasonable suspicion
Tracie L. Morgan, founding attorney of Hope Immigration in Atlanta, reviewed the video and said Cipriano handled the situation correctly. Morgan said people are not required to answer every question when federal agents approach them.
"You do have the right to say no, you don't consent to answering any questions with an attorney present," Morgan said, though she noted there could be "some repercussions."
Morgan also said law enforcement cannot legally stop someone solely because of their skin color. Officers must have reasonable suspicion that a person has committed or is committing a crime before conducting a stop. That standard is rooted in the Fourth Amendment and reinforced by the U.S. Supreme Court's 1975 ruling in U.S. v. Brignoni-Ponce, which held that apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion.
In December 2025, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in Trump v. Illinois that officers "must not make interior immigration stops or arrests based on race or ethnicity."
Recent ICE enforcement in metro Atlanta
The Alpharetta encounter came five days after federal immigration agents detained four workers at the construction site of Norcross's new public-safety building along Buford Highway on Friday, July 24. Norcross Mayor Craig Newton said the city did not direct or participate in that action, according to the North Atlanta Star.
Nationally, ICE vehicle stops have drawn scrutiny after two men were fatally shot during enforcement operations in July. DHS suspended vehicle-related stops on July 14, but President Trump reversed the order the next day, Reuters reported.
No response from Alpharetta Police or ICE
As of Thursday, July 30, neither the Alpharetta Police Department nor ICE had issued a public statement about the gas station encounter. The specific gas station has not been publicly identified.
Residents who believe their rights were violated during a federal enforcement encounter can contact an immigration attorney or file a complaint with the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
