Are tow trucks impounding ICE vehicles in Atlanta because the U.S. Constitution's 10th amendment does not allow ICE to drive on state roads? No, that's not true: The claim is a satirical post from a known satire account. The 10th amendment simply gives to the American states powers that are not specifically delegated to the federal government elsewhere in the Constitution. There are no legal interpretations that say it would ban a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicle from traveling on a state road.
The claim originated in a post (archived here) shared by the @3YearLetterman account on X on January 22, 2026, with a caption that read:
🚨 BRAKING 🚨
ICE vehicles have been spotted on TOW TRUCKS in Atlanta, meaning they are being impounded. The Tenth Amendment does not allow ICE to be on state roads (only federal highways) so this is the right move
This is what the image in the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of X.com)
The 10th Amendment (archived here) reads:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
The explanation of why someone would claim that those words would ban federal trucks from state roads is simple. It was a joke posted by a well-known satire account on X. A New York Times article (archived here) published on April 6, 2020, tells the story of the notorious Three Year Letterman account (archived here).
Maybe you've fallen for it, believing that there really is a self-proclaimed "youth football coaching legend" out there who legitimately is proud of his unlimited laser-printing privileges and the waterbed he purchased without financing. Maybe you're part of his rabid following, joining in the merciless ratioing of anyone who makes the mistake of believing he's a real human and reacting to one of his outrageous or wildly ill-informed statements.
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of NYTimes)
A Google search (archived here) for "ice vehicles impound atlanta" found no news reports about ICE vehicles being towed to an Atlanta impound yard. Most results were about cars and trucks towed after drivers were stranded on roads after an ice storm predicted to arrive in Atlanta in late January 2025.
