Unmasked NYPD Officers assault NYC Subway rider asking them to mask up @ 8th Street 10/19

[Devil's Advocate]

They are mandates - not law!

Mandates are backed by the legal authority granted to the office or agency creating them. This seems like Civics 101 but you might be interested to learn there is no law which compels you to hand over personal effects because a DEA agent asks you to do so. It's almost like you've got the whole concept of laws and rights completely backwards.

 

[Ryan]

They are mandates - not law!

What clever point do you think you’re making here?

 

[flitcraft]

I guarantee that if somebody grabbed a cop's shirt and shoved him, they'd be doing hard time for assaulting the cop. That is, if they lived by the end of the episode.

 

[UserNameRequired]

…This seems like Civics 101 but you might be interested to learn there is no law which compels anyone to hand over their personal effects simply because some DEA agent asks them to do so.

I see the Tucson thread locked, but someone else posted in the last few days? Anyway, something to think about before giving permission to be searched. You can exercise your rights, especially if you want to keep them:
Fourth Amendment Annotated

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

 

[jis]

You can do all sorts of things provided you have the flexibility of not making it to your destination in a timely manner to attend to whatever it is that you were going there for. Theoretically within that US one should be able to exercise ones rights without falling afoul of this, but unfortunately often that is not the case.

And if you are crossing an international boundary all bets are completely off.

 

[flitcraft]

You can do all sorts of things provided you have the flexibility of not making it to your destination in a timely manner to attend to whatever it is that you were going there for. Theoretically within that US one should be able to exercise ones rights without falling afoul of this, but unfortunately often that is not the case.

And if you are crossing an international boundary all bets are completely off.

Exactly so on both points. If the police have 'reasonable suspicion' that you are about to or have violated a law, they can detain you for a 'reasonable time'--which can be awhile, unfortunately. And 'reasonable suspicion' can be based on just about anything--it's dramatically less than the probable cause needed for an arrest. And, all that assumes that the officer you are dealing with is a by-the-book officer and not one of the 'bad apple' cops who will threaten or use violence to get you to comply. So...there are the rights you have in the law books and the rights you have on the street, which aren't necessarily the same. Even asking "Am I free to go, officer?" is often interpreted hostilely by some police officers. So, be aware that an exercise of rights comes with significant risks.

And the Fourth Amendment's rights don't apply at all regarding international boundaries--which can extend far beyond the physical boundary itself.