“Liberty—the freedom from unwarranted intrusion by government—is as easily lost through insistent nibbles by government officials who seek to do their jobs too well as by those whose purpose it is to oppress; the piranha can be as deadly as the shark.” —United States v. $124570, 873 F.2d 1240, 1246 (9th Cir. 1989) Let me first say I do not advocate an open border. I am all for border security and I respect agents who have the duty of securing our country. I also have a great deal of respect towards our Constitution and the notion of liberty that many of us understand and appreciate. Second, this did not take place at the border. Some might be unfamiliar with internal checkpoints like this one which are away from the port of entry and are governed by different laws. At our port of entry, I expect to be searched and have no problem with that. This checkpoint however, is located 42 km away from the border on Interstate 19 and people like myself have no choice but to go through it when we travel. The purpose of these types of internal immigration checkpoints is to determine citizenship and immigration status. [United States v. Martinez-Fuerte (1976)] Notice I respectfully told the agent I was a US Citizen. Again, this is an immigration checkpoint and not a crime control checkpoint. The Customs & Border Protections Field Manual states in section 18.6 (e): “provided the checkpoint is used for the purpose of determining citizenship of those who pass through it, and not for the …
Posts Tagged ‘Checkpoint’
Image taken on 2009-03-30 11:40:58 by ThreadedThoughts.
Image taken on 2009-11-04 09:51:12 by High Above Texas.
Image taken on 2009-03-30 11:34:26 by ThreadedThoughts.
Image taken on 2008-01-31 10:24:39 by tobo.
www.truebornsons.com "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." – 4th amendment of the US Constitution Highlights (5:35) Agent whips out his nun chucks in anger (7:45-8:00) The agent tells me in less than perfect English, "In the Border Patrol Checkpoint, the person's rights doesn't matter here." (16:50-17:10) I'm told that the police will arrive in less than 10 minutes to arrest me (19:00-19:40) I'm accused of being a terrorist (26:20) I'm told that I'm free to go without being searched Thank God we live in a free country! But how long will our freedom last if we ignore our Bill of Rights? The highest power in the US government is the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land…not border patrol agents on a power trip that are about 75 miles from the border. Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Pro 29:12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.