Most didn't read this article, or perhaps readers have just lost their minds. Checkpoint border agents are supposed to be insistent, direct, and keep illegal immigrants out of the US. Obama won't do it, he won't even follow the laws. I'm happy the agents are doing their jobs; stop attacking any and everyone that disagrees with your open border utopia NYTimes. Relocate your headquarters to Mexico and then tell me about profiling and freedom.
6
142 complaints over a 44 month period, or roughly 3 per month. Given the large volume of people crossing the border every day, why wouldn't that be laudable?
7
Homeland Security is the biggest organizational mistake ever made.
Break these agencies up and put them back from whence they came.
Break these agencies up and put them back from whence they came.
2
The Border Patrol is at the Mexican/United States border to keep illegal Mexicans, and others, from coming into the United States. Yes, I guess that is profiling. What would the ACLU suggest?
5
Racial profiling? Maybe, maybe not.
Data is needed, such as:
Total number of "whites" crossing the border.
Total number of non-whites crossing the border.
Total number of "undocumented" whites crossing the border.
Total number of undocumented non-whites crossing the border.
Total number of documented non-whites stopped/detained.
Total number of documented whites stopped/detained.
When all the data is there, then analyze if for "disparities".
If the data is not complete, then the "analysis" is necessarily incomplete.
Data is needed, such as:
Total number of "whites" crossing the border.
Total number of non-whites crossing the border.
Total number of "undocumented" whites crossing the border.
Total number of undocumented non-whites crossing the border.
Total number of documented non-whites stopped/detained.
Total number of documented whites stopped/detained.
When all the data is there, then analyze if for "disparities".
If the data is not complete, then the "analysis" is necessarily incomplete.
3
It is a very different world down on our southern borders; if you've never visited in that area it is hard to comprehend how Mad Max-like it presents. The structures of modern society exist but the feelings one gets are more like what the Old (lawless) West must have been like.
There's a lot of abusive behavior in the vein of, as with many police officers, "it's us or them." While it might be understandable, given what these agents see and deal with, it's not acceptable - nor should it ever be.
Body cameras need to be mandated, whether the unions like it or not, as they are the best form of protection for both the agents and those detained for search. Complaints will go down and, ultimately, morale will go up.
There's a lot of abusive behavior in the vein of, as with many police officers, "it's us or them." While it might be understandable, given what these agents see and deal with, it's not acceptable - nor should it ever be.
Body cameras need to be mandated, whether the unions like it or not, as they are the best form of protection for both the agents and those detained for search. Complaints will go down and, ultimately, morale will go up.
My last trip to Padre Island was 3 years ago. I resented being stopped and asked if I was a citizen and how, on the way back. Been going there since the kids were little but don't plan going there again. There are other places to visit without getting harassed. I had a much easier time driving across borders in Europe couple of years ago, after getting in at the port of entry which was Amsterdam on that trip.
What do we expect when our leaders create an out of control anarchy through their treasonous sabotage of the enforcement of our immigration laws? This is logically what happens, the area north of the border becomes just as morally ambiguous as the "impunity" hell just a few meters south of the border. How is a border agent supposed to know what to do, what his or her duty is when their efforts are insulted and defeated by the fact that once a border violator/invader gets a 100 yards from the fence, that our President of all people says they are beyond apprehension ... all of a sudden not criminals and possible terrorists, but magically transformed into sacred minority victims that actually have a "right" to violate American laws. Because they are like "Dreamers", like loyal black citizens Martin Luther King talked about? Well Obama is not Martin Luther King and criminals invading our nation holding babies in front of themselves as shields, using their own children as hostages to get a ransom of a green card and welfare benefits are not the descendants of black slaves fighting for their constitutional rights.
7
Hiring practices askance. No real education being hired there. Filling spots w the disenfranchised.
Energetic young go-getters would do well to steer clear of DHS.
If you give any police force the unlimited right to search automobiles, then this is what you will get. That is why SCOTUS was wrong about these checkpoints. I recognize that it's the law of the land and I obey it (not cheerfully) but they could only have made the ruling by never seeing the results. Incidentally, it is also (by this decision US v Martinez) even if the stop is based on racial characteristics! Just an amazing ruling. It's time for another case to stop this. This is 2015, there must be some way to get an immediate warrant if a car needs to be searched. Surely having "night judges" available is a better solution than inconveniencing millions of motorists and harassing tens of thousands every year. I mean really, if you live around here, even a wall sounds better than this practice.
The commenters who support racial profiling at the border ignore the fact that many, many U.S. citizens have brown skin. I live in a border area where Latinos appear to me to be close to a majority. These folks are subject to rudeness, harassment, needless searches and worse by Border Patrol agents, while those of us with white skin privilege get a pass and a smile.
The Swartz case is particularly horrible. This agent, accompanied by another, shot a 16 year-old Mexican boy in the back seven times THROUGH the border fence, claiming falsely that he was throwing rocks from the Mexican side. It took two years for the U.S. Attorney to bring an indictment. The U.S. District Court arraigned this man last week and allowed him to go free pending his murder trial. I can say with some assurance from my experience as a former criminal defense lawyer that if this were a case of a brown or black man shooting a white child, he would be held without bail.
The Swartz case is particularly horrible. This agent, accompanied by another, shot a 16 year-old Mexican boy in the back seven times THROUGH the border fence, claiming falsely that he was throwing rocks from the Mexican side. It took two years for the U.S. Attorney to bring an indictment. The U.S. District Court arraigned this man last week and allowed him to go free pending his murder trial. I can say with some assurance from my experience as a former criminal defense lawyer that if this were a case of a brown or black man shooting a white child, he would be held without bail.
Many Border Agents are under-educated caucasions from white America, and feel they are saving America, while earning $100,000/yr.
Approximately 80-90% of agents are Hispanic/Latino. There are some that do not hold college degrees, but to say many is flat out absurd and incorrect.
3
"Many" other Border Agents are "under-educated" Hispanics.
And many other Border Agents are well-educated Hispanics.
And many other Border Agents are well-educated caucasians.
And many other Border Agents are well-educated Hispanics.
And many other Border Agents are well-educated caucasians.
2
BP Agents are neither heroes, nor thugs. Problem lies with public opinion, as dictated by political rhetoric. The "Border" is a favorite topic and platform every 4 yrs.
1
About 30 years ago, my high school-age daughter and I drove from San Diego into Tijuana, in my new RX7. No problem getting through the checkpoint into Mexico. Spent less than ten minutes in Tijuana, didn't even get out of the car, because it was so disappointing, with an air of menace. We had expected music and flowers, like in the movies, but found only streets in desperate need of repair, dental offices, and a plethora of body shops. Got out of Tijuana as fast as possible. But didn't breeze through checkpoint back into USA. Agents made me park the car out of line and searched every nook and cranny, found nothing, no drugs, no alcohol. Zeroed in on my dark-haired, brown-eyed, tanned daughter, demanding to know where she was from. "North Carolina," she stammered in her Southern accent. Shaking their heads in disbelief, the agents waved us thru the checkpoint. I was later told by a San Diegan friend that our quick in and out of Tijuana made the agents think I had picked up some sort of contraband, if not drugs and illegal liquor, then must have been an illegal emigrant in the form of my daughter. And I was told my instincts were right, that the many body shops were part of a conspiracy to acquire American automobiles and shake us down for payoffs to claim our vehicles when we had them "accidentally" damaged. Mexico holds no charms for me; I have no desire to visit there again.
4
You went through a U.S. customs port of entry (POE) not a Border Patrol checkpoint. Two HUGELY different things. POE need nothing at all to search vehicles and your travels were highly suspicious.
I live in Michigan, near Ann Arbor. A few years ago, my wife and I decided to take a vacation in Canada. We drove to Windsor (across the river from Detroit), parked the car, and then took a train to St. John to experience the tides at the Bay of Fundy. We had a lovely time. We took the train back to Windsor, found the car (about midnight) and started the hour-long drive home. We were for no apparent reason stopped by the Border guards and told to park in a small lot, then to go into a small building. There were maybe 40 other people there. My wife and I were separated; she was sent to a small room and told to sit in a folding chair. I was told to stand in a line and watch a particular (blank, faded green painted wall) and not to move. We were, in effect, under arrest. When I asked how long this would take, the agents (mostly big burly men; or big burly women) shouted to me that I should "shut my mouth and watch the wall." Most of the people detained were brown or black. Most memorable was what seemed to be an Iraqui family, living in the US, who had been to a soccer game in which the 10-year old daughter had played. They were there when we arrived, and they were still there when we were finally released. After about an hour of this, babies crying, people obviously scared, myself included, we were let go. I asked again what had this been all about, and I was told by Big Bulky Loudmouth to just get the hell out of there. Middle class couple in our 70s.
3
I despise returning to the US when I travel. It isn't that I don't want to be home, but I always dread dealing with anyone from ICE. Every one of the episodes I encountered was really slapstick humor over trivia but occurred in the midst of a threatening atmosphere.
The first time I returned to the US by myself as a teen through O'Hare, the agent insisted on holding up over his head every piece of underwear in my bags for anyone's interest (big open room, lots of other agents with nothing much to do). The funniest crossing of the US-Canada border involved a swarm of eight agents around my car, seizing three packages of frozen duck breasts -- from a facility approved for export to the US! -- and neglecting (I discovered later) the dozen eggs I had forgotten on the floor in back. It was before the age of smart phones, so I couldn't bring the USDA's website up for them, but that probably would have been ignored or got me in real trouble; I got a big lecture about diseases as I could overhear the fattest agent comment on how good duck tastes on a grill...and they *missed* eggs, which pass through the cloaca of poultry and are more likely to have bacteria on them than frozen, butchered meat. My car developed an oil leak crossing at Sault Ste Marie. I was informed of it by 6 agents who surrounded my car all with their hands on the butts of their guns and who wouldn't let me out of my car to make a quick repair to a hose clamp.
I can only imagine what they do to other people.
The first time I returned to the US by myself as a teen through O'Hare, the agent insisted on holding up over his head every piece of underwear in my bags for anyone's interest (big open room, lots of other agents with nothing much to do). The funniest crossing of the US-Canada border involved a swarm of eight agents around my car, seizing three packages of frozen duck breasts -- from a facility approved for export to the US! -- and neglecting (I discovered later) the dozen eggs I had forgotten on the floor in back. It was before the age of smart phones, so I couldn't bring the USDA's website up for them, but that probably would have been ignored or got me in real trouble; I got a big lecture about diseases as I could overhear the fattest agent comment on how good duck tastes on a grill...and they *missed* eggs, which pass through the cloaca of poultry and are more likely to have bacteria on them than frozen, butchered meat. My car developed an oil leak crossing at Sault Ste Marie. I was informed of it by 6 agents who surrounded my car all with their hands on the butts of their guns and who wouldn't let me out of my car to make a quick repair to a hose clamp.
I can only imagine what they do to other people.
2
Your story conceivably is evidence of ICE/BP abuse and/or incompetence.
But it clearly is evidence that there is no "profiling" of non-whites
and no "targeting" of the southern border.
But it clearly is evidence that there is no "profiling" of non-whites
and no "targeting" of the southern border.
While bringing our daughter back from college in Edinburg, Texas, we were ordered to pull over at the Falfurrias checkpoint, which is some sixty miles north of the border. A quite young officer with no name tag, a rumpled uniform, and an angry scowl gazed primarily at our daughter in the back seat. I asked him why we were stopped; he got angry at the question and you can guess what happened next. The better part of an hour later we were back on our way. One might expect this sort of activity in Serbia, but here? Regardless of one's ethnicity - ours is Caucasion - no citizen should be subjected to this intrusion. Texans are by their politics insistent that government not intrude on their private affairs. A trip home from college in a Ford pickup should not be branded as a threat by homeland security.
3
The ACLU is NOT independent: it is increasingly a Leftist advocate, crudely pushing far-Left causes. It is nonsense to suggest Border Patrol agents are somehow racists when they stop Latinos for questioning just a few miles from a border where millions of Latinos have entered this country in contravention to its laws and where drugs that kill mostly poor people are known to enter the US. What should they be doing: forget where they are and WHY they are there to make the ACLU happy? What the ACLU doesn't like is vigorous enforcement of US laws against illegal entry and drugs-there efforts in this, and in many other areas are designed to advance a Leftist agenda, and undermine vigorous law enforcement.
8
Border Patrol Accused of Profiling... Do you mean profiling of illegal aliens?
6
OR, perhaps, profiling of legal citizens, which is precisely what has been happening. There are plenty of American-born citizens, some with regional ancestry dating back to before "America" as we know it existed, and those very same people are subjected to profiling, onerous and time-consuming checkpoint stops, and aggressive questioning from overzealous Border Control.
It's not just "illegal aliens," as you put it, who are affected by this. Not by any means.
It's not just "illegal aliens," as you put it, who are affected by this. Not by any means.
1
Everybody becomes an expert on border issues every time an election is coming up. Most of the mouthiest congresspeople have never seen the border, or , only did their obligitory 5 minute pre-packaged border tour.
Former BP Public Affairs
Former BP Public Affairs
3
The same thing happens here on the west coast Canadian border, especially if you are clearing customs in your own boat. Scores of stories of being treated rudely, it's happened to me. And as for the checkpoints, we found out it's legal for them to stop a car in the US within a certain distance of the international border, decided at the border guards' discretion. And as for racial profiling, I'm sure in happens at the southern border, but we're all white folks here at the border with Canada. It's the culture of the border patrol, hand on gun, "we have to assume you are all terrorists." I've heard those very words.
3
So, your story may be evidence of ICE/BP rudeness, etc.
But it also is evidence that there is no racial profiling or targeting of the southern border.
But it also is evidence that there is no racial profiling or targeting of the southern border.
sam finn -- it's NOT "evidence that there is no racial profiling or targeting of the southern border," it's not evidence of ANYTHING about the southern border
My husband and I were stopped by a border patrol check point 200 miles north of the Mexican border in CA. For us it was easy, although a slightly irritating pause in our touring in the area.
However, we are both clearly Caucasion, seniors, and speak English with no trace of a Spanish or other foreign accent. Thus, other than the required 10 minute stop to show drivers licenses, car registration, and state where we were born there was no hassle and the obviously older agent was very polite.
What this points to is the likelyhood of significant profiling. Furthermore, we were 200 miles into CA, north of the border with Mexico.
My question: what happens when people who appear Asian or from India drive in the area or cross the border from Mexico? Are they stopped the same way Hispanics are?
However, we are both clearly Caucasion, seniors, and speak English with no trace of a Spanish or other foreign accent. Thus, other than the required 10 minute stop to show drivers licenses, car registration, and state where we were born there was no hassle and the obviously older agent was very polite.
What this points to is the likelyhood of significant profiling. Furthermore, we were 200 miles into CA, north of the border with Mexico.
My question: what happens when people who appear Asian or from India drive in the area or cross the border from Mexico? Are they stopped the same way Hispanics are?
3
As CBP slides further down its cliff of perceived and real abuses in the public eye, its focus changes daily. Instead of existing to collect and protect the revenue of the United States, as we who work there have sworn an oath to do, it actually serves to facilitate trade. We're talking the implementation of the now-confusing array of so-called free trade agreements. These FTAs, so far from helping the economy of the United States, accelerate the flight of American capital to other countries whose production costs are significantly cheaper and are a direct cause of American job loss. Internally the management of CBP is, in many cases, criminally negligent in their adherence to basic OPM [personnel] code and one sees frequent and egregious violations of workers' ADA rights as my one morbidly obese diabetic coworker was forbidden from using the bathroom when he needed to shoot insulin one day. This, of course, was done by a female supervisor of color, whose two layers of Affirmative Action teflon will serve to effectively deflect any meaningful confrontation of her ongoing creation and maintenance of a hostile work environment at taxpayer expense. Congress and SOCUS need to examine the jurisdictional questions that arose when DHS was created by W43 and declare a clean partition between those of CBP, HSI (ICE) and the FBI. Perhaps then the focus may shift to improving daily operations instead of running a three-ring circus.
1
A border zone is not a playground.
Public roads within a border zone are not ordinary public roads.
Activity within a border zone is not business as usual.
Yes, every police agency, including the Border Patrol, ought to have oversight --
public oversight established by the law.
Yes, private persons and organizations -- including "non-profits", and including organizations such as the ACLU -- can compile data and complaints and submit them to public oversight agencies, and to the media. But they are not the government and they do not represent the American public.
If they believe there needs to be more oversight, then they can lobby for that.
And if more oversight requires more data, then they can lobby for that as well.
And if all that -- more oversight and more data collection -- requires more funding, then they can lobby for that as well. I myself would support more funding for more oversight and more data collection, as long as it represents additional funding, and not a diversion of funding away from funding for enforcement.
Public roads within a border zone are not ordinary public roads.
Activity within a border zone is not business as usual.
Yes, every police agency, including the Border Patrol, ought to have oversight --
public oversight established by the law.
Yes, private persons and organizations -- including "non-profits", and including organizations such as the ACLU -- can compile data and complaints and submit them to public oversight agencies, and to the media. But they are not the government and they do not represent the American public.
If they believe there needs to be more oversight, then they can lobby for that.
And if more oversight requires more data, then they can lobby for that as well.
And if all that -- more oversight and more data collection -- requires more funding, then they can lobby for that as well. I myself would support more funding for more oversight and more data collection, as long as it represents additional funding, and not a diversion of funding away from funding for enforcement.
1
We have a major problem in the United States concerning illegal immigrants. This things need to be done.
3
Profiling!!!??? How many people of Swedish descent are entering the country illegally via the Mexican border?
4
Some of the reported actions are outrageous, no doubt about it. But can the Border Patrol really be charged with profiling? Should they be focusing on blue-eyed, blonde-haired people when they search for illegals at the border?
The Fourth Amendment does indeed prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures. Why then do we allow civil asset forfeiture? Why was warrantless surveillance of American citizens permitted for years? Government violates the Fourth Amendment on a daily basis, and our elected representatives do little or nothing about it.
The Fourth Amendment does indeed prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures. Why then do we allow civil asset forfeiture? Why was warrantless surveillance of American citizens permitted for years? Government violates the Fourth Amendment on a daily basis, and our elected representatives do little or nothing about it.
2
My husband's family has been in America at least 200 years, there is a town named for them in Tennessee. His grandfather married a woman from The Blackfoot Indian Nation in Montana before moving to Alabama where their daughter married man from a German town in Pennsylvania I think or maybe it was Michigan.
Anyway, while his brothers and sisters are blond haired and blue and brown eyed, he has dark brown hair and eyes the color of Cajun coffee, he works outside and in the summer his skin, is a pretty reddish brown color like dark cherry wood and he has the high cheekbones of his Indian grandmother.
More than once I have dreaded the thought of traveling through Texas on our way to our place in Colorado and being pulled over because he doesn't look quiet American enough for some Texas yahoo. Will they shoot him while he reaches in the glove compartment to get his registration?
What about you? Do you look American enough? Will your summer tan confuse and overzealous border agent? Is it time for you to start thinking about bleaching your hair? Maybe colored contacts will help?
Then think about what it would feel like to be an American of Hispanic heritage and what they have to deal with on a daily basis in states like Texas and Arizona.
This isn't Syria or Gaza or North Korea or Crimea any other war torn country, we should not be subjected checkpoints inside our borders just so some zealots can play Army men and hassle brown people.
Anyway, while his brothers and sisters are blond haired and blue and brown eyed, he has dark brown hair and eyes the color of Cajun coffee, he works outside and in the summer his skin, is a pretty reddish brown color like dark cherry wood and he has the high cheekbones of his Indian grandmother.
More than once I have dreaded the thought of traveling through Texas on our way to our place in Colorado and being pulled over because he doesn't look quiet American enough for some Texas yahoo. Will they shoot him while he reaches in the glove compartment to get his registration?
What about you? Do you look American enough? Will your summer tan confuse and overzealous border agent? Is it time for you to start thinking about bleaching your hair? Maybe colored contacts will help?
Then think about what it would feel like to be an American of Hispanic heritage and what they have to deal with on a daily basis in states like Texas and Arizona.
This isn't Syria or Gaza or North Korea or Crimea any other war torn country, we should not be subjected checkpoints inside our borders just so some zealots can play Army men and hassle brown people.
8
Border patrol agents are just doing their job trying to prevent illegal aliens., drug traffickers and human smugglers from coming into our country. It's too bad Obama and the DHS don't do their job...protecting our people and following the laws of our constitution. 136 complaints out of 6000 pages? What a joke! Who pays the guys at ACLU anyway? They are the ones who should be investigated. It's an abusive organization
3
Quit trying to make profiling a dirty word. It works to profile drug dealers and criminals in other areas. The misuse of profiling is the bad thing. Cops should be trained correctly in how to use profiling to catch criminals, not to catch anyone black or hispanic, etc. Marconi did a great job as a federal profiler to catch whites and blacks traveling with drugs on planes, pre-9/11
3
Patent INSANITY. Of course they are going to stop hispanic males... They're the ones coming over from Mexico with drugs.
4
I have never had a problem. I am caucasian. Up until 2008 I was also a foreigner. Legal immigrant maybe, but still - never asked to prove it unless actually crossing the border. Anecdotal maybe, but seems to be a symptom of the problem.
For that matter, most US citizens could not prove their citizenship at an immigration stop unless they routinely carry birth certificate or passport. A drivers license authorizes you to drive a vehicle - nothing more, nothing less. Which leads to the interesting observation that legal, non-citizen immigrants (resident and nonresident aliens as it were) are more likely to be able to prove their right to be here, than citizens.
For that matter, most US citizens could not prove their citizenship at an immigration stop unless they routinely carry birth certificate or passport. A drivers license authorizes you to drive a vehicle - nothing more, nothing less. Which leads to the interesting observation that legal, non-citizen immigrants (resident and nonresident aliens as it were) are more likely to be able to prove their right to be here, than citizens.
Nice to be white.
Customs Agents are not bound by the 4th Amendment (authority left over from the Prohibition era) while Border Patrol Agents are bound. Mix these Agents together at a checkpoint and you end up with Agents with unconstrained police powers. Many can’t handle that responsibility and may abuse their powers. The merits of inland checkpoints are debatable and should easily be determined by accurate statistics. BTW, the dogs don’t make many mistakes, but their handlers can encourage them to sound a false alert. This is used as a predicate for a BP search or the vehicle’s being detained.
No law enforcement and justice system can be perfect. Without border enforcement American culture will vanish, as hundreds of millions of disadvantage immigrants crowd into the USA, and struggle to survive. American will become just like India, Mexico, or Brazil. America may even become worse, than those countries, because America will have even less common cultural bonds. America will become defined by ethic enclaves.
2
What is this American culture that is going to "vanish?" What are these "common cultural bonds?" Do they relate to the Spanish or explorers? Indigenous Native tribes? Enslaved Africans? Perhaps the Chinese who were also kidnapped and put to work, in far smaller numbers but otherwise quite similar to Africans snatched up and taken to the New World to labor and serve? How about enclaves of Polish immigrants? Hmong refugees?
Or is this common culture limited mainly to, perhaps, the Pilgrims?
Consider, perhaps, that the wide range of immigrants to the U.S. means that it is unlikely to ever become just like India, Mexico, or Brazil, as you mentioned. Mostly because we currently have, and have had for generations, people from those three countries in addition to people from Denmark, Lithuania, Thailand, Zimbabwe, and so many
other countries, all with different ethnicities and religious traditions. America is less homogeneous now than it was in years past, but it has never truly been that lily-white Western European Christian monolith some imagine.
Also, a large number of undocumented immigrants came legally then overstayed their visas. No border fence or control can affect that reality.
I assume you mean ethnic, not ethic enclaves -- which already exist. My own hometown is overwhelmingly Dutch; my current one is very heavily Greek. Both have existed for generations as a sort of ethnic enclave - yet are wholly American. This is nothing new - it is authentic America.
Or is this common culture limited mainly to, perhaps, the Pilgrims?
Consider, perhaps, that the wide range of immigrants to the U.S. means that it is unlikely to ever become just like India, Mexico, or Brazil, as you mentioned. Mostly because we currently have, and have had for generations, people from those three countries in addition to people from Denmark, Lithuania, Thailand, Zimbabwe, and so many
other countries, all with different ethnicities and religious traditions. America is less homogeneous now than it was in years past, but it has never truly been that lily-white Western European Christian monolith some imagine.
Also, a large number of undocumented immigrants came legally then overstayed their visas. No border fence or control can affect that reality.
I assume you mean ethnic, not ethic enclaves -- which already exist. My own hometown is overwhelmingly Dutch; my current one is very heavily Greek. Both have existed for generations as a sort of ethnic enclave - yet are wholly American. This is nothing new - it is authentic America.
I find this painful to read, and not at all surprising.
What I find surprising is that so many citizens of the USA still pride themselves on living in a "free" country, and on living in a democracy.
That ship sailed a while back...
What I find surprising is that so many citizens of the USA still pride themselves on living in a "free" country, and on living in a democracy.
That ship sailed a while back...
2
Read this article carefully. It alleges that Border Patrol Agents "stretch the limits of the law", not that they break it. It states that the ACLU has sued them, not that the suit has merit. It indicates that the Agents engage in racial profiling, which this newspaper elsewhere indicates has been deemed legal within 100 miles of the border by the Supreme Court. The Border Patrol are well-trained federal agents. They are more akin to the FBI than to local cops. They make their share of mistakes in a difficult and violent job. As indicated, they have killed 33 suspects, with 32 of those killings deemed to be sufficiently justified not to require investigation. Those who think this article expose a pattern of illegal conduct need to read more carefully. It alleges that the Border Patrol has angered numerous suspects. That is not against the law. Agents who aren't as nice as the public may want are a far cry from those who shoot fleeing suspects in the back.
2
The case of the boy shot in the back was especially egregious, but just because the others haven't resulted in charges should not translate into them being dismissed as perfectly valid. These are extremely difficult cases to prosecute, and there are large obstacles to overcome, including getting all of the facts investigated and the natural sympathy and deference most juries tend to show ant law enforcement officer, BP or otherwise. Even the case going forward will be tough, despite some very damning details, such as the near-physical impossibility of any rocks threatening the officer through the fence, as he alleged.
And it's inaccurate to say that the BP has merely "angered suspects." They've also overzealously pursued average citizens for little or no apparent cause.
These reports aren't new, sadly. Go look on the NPR archives for a series they did last year on the BP, use of force violations, poor training and hush-hush attitudes toward accountability, lack of adequate investigations, and other issues.
This is a bigger issue. Much bigger.
And it's inaccurate to say that the BP has merely "angered suspects." They've also overzealously pursued average citizens for little or no apparent cause.
These reports aren't new, sadly. Go look on the NPR archives for a series they did last year on the BP, use of force violations, poor training and hush-hush attitudes toward accountability, lack of adequate investigations, and other issues.
This is a bigger issue. Much bigger.
I lived in Mexico and was regularly stopped for driving while blonde. I had a separate wallet with a few pesos and a twenty dollar bill. I was pulled over constantly and considered that 20 bucks a toll. You want crooked cops and regular bribes paid, go to Mexico. Not only the police, but every gas station. Less worried about the guys north of the border than the guys south of the border. When I got to the border, going north, the border guards were so shocked I survived (with good reason) they just waved me through. I've also regularly crossed the Canadian border, I appreciate that they are keeping those borders secure.
3
If people were not sneaking across the U.S. border in droves, there would not be any of this. Since the vast majority are brown-skinned, you would have to be brain-damaged not to focus on these groups. I moved recently to New Mexico and got the third degree it seemed to get state documents. You do not get a drivers license on the spot, but wait week for one in the mail. Why is that? Major license fraud with illegals at a branch office. Put the blame where it belongs, open-borders NYT. It is NOT a victimless crime.
2
I am an Indigenous American whose ancestors lived both North and South of the arbitrarily drawn “Mexican Border.” I am a decorated combat veteran, commissioned officer in the Airborne Infantry and earned a graduate degree from an Ivy League University which I put to work in a long professional career. My parents served during WWII in uniform and on the assembly lines of the Douglas Aircraft Factory in Santa Monica, CA.
During the 1950’s we lived in Yuma, AZ where the closest border crossing was San Luis. In the 1960’s we lived in Chula Vista, CA where the closest border crossing was San Ysidro. In my personal experience, the United States Border Patrol is little more than an arrogant band of racist thugs; I will never forget nor forgive the treatment they served me and my parents on multiple occasions. The Border Patrol should be cleaned out with a fire hose. The culture is corrupt and their behavior consistently criminal. If there is anything there to save then those folks should apply again for their jobs.
During the 1950’s we lived in Yuma, AZ where the closest border crossing was San Luis. In the 1960’s we lived in Chula Vista, CA where the closest border crossing was San Ysidro. In my personal experience, the United States Border Patrol is little more than an arrogant band of racist thugs; I will never forget nor forgive the treatment they served me and my parents on multiple occasions. The Border Patrol should be cleaned out with a fire hose. The culture is corrupt and their behavior consistently criminal. If there is anything there to save then those folks should apply again for their jobs.
3
I was in Brownsville, Texas, in December 2008. I walked up to--but not onto--the border bridge one Saturday evening to see what a river border crossing looked like. As no guard was present at the post, I turned around and headed back to my car. When I had walked about half a block, I was "Hey!"'d by a burly, threatening border patrol agent, who asked me whether I had just walked into the country from Mexico. I told him that I had walked up to the bridge, found no one there, and then turned back. That was not good enough for him. He directed me into his little barracks and proceeded to interrogate and run a background check on me that occupied 30 minutes. I was then curtly told that I could go.
I am not Mexican. I am not Hispanic. I should not readily be mistaken for either one since I am a fair-skinned, blue-eyed white guy from New York City. But I was treated to the same indignities suffered by those who might more readily be suspected of crossing the border illegally. No matter: The border patrol abuses its power without discrimination, violating everyone's rights in equal measure. Since it does a mediocre job of actually protecting the border, it compensates by broadcasting an illusion of control through systematic individual abuse. Of the many nails that have been driven into the coffin of American democracy since 2001, the BCP stands second only to the NSA in destructiveness.
I am not Mexican. I am not Hispanic. I should not readily be mistaken for either one since I am a fair-skinned, blue-eyed white guy from New York City. But I was treated to the same indignities suffered by those who might more readily be suspected of crossing the border illegally. No matter: The border patrol abuses its power without discrimination, violating everyone's rights in equal measure. Since it does a mediocre job of actually protecting the border, it compensates by broadcasting an illusion of control through systematic individual abuse. Of the many nails that have been driven into the coffin of American democracy since 2001, the BCP stands second only to the NSA in destructiveness.
8
Those people are there to protect you. Suffer through a little inconvenience.
4
Mexican-American agents are hardest on Mexican-Americans; Anglo agents are hardest on Anglos. African-American agents kind of keep to themselves — almost as much outsiders as the people they're processing ... on the border.
4
It is uncomfortable to be pulled over at a random checkpoint in San Diego, and asked, "What's your citizenship?" I understand the greater good, but why does the lesser evil have to be so damning and demeaning?
6
Human nature is that we get upset with these searches and tough scrutiny along the border.
But God forbid....if a nuclear bomb is smuggled into the US from Mexico and detonated in Times Square, Americans (including the ACLU and commenters here) will be apopletic as to why the border patrol did not do MORE to better protect us.
But God forbid....if a nuclear bomb is smuggled into the US from Mexico and detonated in Times Square, Americans (including the ACLU and commenters here) will be apopletic as to why the border patrol did not do MORE to better protect us.
7
Somehow, many other countries' border control officers manage to be more polite while keeping their homelands safe.
2
One wishes one could say such behavior is un-American but regrettably these sorts of tactics, consistent with those of the worst current and former police states around the world, are proving quite the norm.
The veneration and quick labeling of hero for anyone in uniform regardless of actually having demonstrated valor contributes to a police force policing itself where, as the article indicates, the only ones held accountable are those who confront the son of "one of their own" (probably a commanding officer).
Ultimately freedom and a martial society are mutually exclusive. The fact that this nation has the most imprisoned people in the world shows which idea is winning.
The veneration and quick labeling of hero for anyone in uniform regardless of actually having demonstrated valor contributes to a police force policing itself where, as the article indicates, the only ones held accountable are those who confront the son of "one of their own" (probably a commanding officer).
Ultimately freedom and a martial society are mutually exclusive. The fact that this nation has the most imprisoned people in the world shows which idea is winning.
7
I had so many unpleasant experiences crossing the border into the US, either at preclearance at Pearson or at the Buffalo crossing that I decided to never try again. This was in the late 80s and early 90s, long before 2001. The immigration officers were surly and hostile and threatening. For some reason they couldn't believe that I wanted to cross to see a friend or go to the Met in New York. I am a white, Canadian born, male. If I found it bad, what must it be like for those who are not white. I would love to revisit New York or go to Chicago, but the hassle and intimidation are not worth it. (I suspect they thought I wanted to live in the the country as an illegal immigrant.)
12
Hey, I'm a white, US-born woman and I've had so many lousy, petty, threatening experiences at US crossings at our northern border that I am amazed any Canadians want to come visit here at all.
2
Hey, NYTimes get with it. This has been happening in your own state of NY for years to the point that most Hispanics in Western NY have been detained at least once. And that includes US citizens.
Why don't you report on that?
Why don't you report on that?
6
These things should be intelligence driven. Blanketing a problem with force is never a solution. You antagonise more people than you please.
3
That's how the churls are in Texas.
How can an organization with that many complaints against it be allowed to operate? If this is truly seen as an "..aggressive agency that doesn’t know how to measure the effectiveness of all the power that it wields” then it should be closed down until they learn how to follow the rules.
3
Thanks the the Patriot Act and Homeland Security, the US has become the police state that we used to fight against in WW2 and the Cold War.
5
Police state? Really? I suppose you've lived in Russia,China.
My opinion prob'ly exhibits my own "implicit associations" but .........
I think one can find a similar psycho-social profile of those (usually male) who decide to enter the "corrections system" as a wardens and those who enter the "border patrol" as agents.
I think if we changed the recruitment criteria for these two positions, we might see our crime rate decrease drastically.
I think one can find a similar psycho-social profile of those (usually male) who decide to enter the "corrections system" as a wardens and those who enter the "border patrol" as agents.
I think if we changed the recruitment criteria for these two positions, we might see our crime rate decrease drastically.
2
As an American who lived in Canada, I can tell you that everyone crossing the border is potentially guilty until deemed innocent by the Border Patrol agents. They don't have to let you into the country if they don't want to, American passport or not. There is no due process.
10
What they are talking about here, and what I find so troubling, is that these checkpoints are well inside the boarders of the United States.
Uhmm, first, there's a significant portion of the American public who believe that the human beings crossing the border are mostly "rapists" and "drug dealers;" second, those wonderful, generous Americans are joined by a whole bunch of others who aren't QUITE so hate-filled but who, nonetheless, refer to those immigrants as "illegal aliens" (i.e., not just criminals but criminals from another planet); and third, almost everybody else in this Country, including so-called progressives, believe those immigrants steal our jobs.
So who's surprised that the Border Patrol feel empowered by a fear and hate-filled American electorate to pretty much do what they want. Oh, yeah, I know, pointing the finger back at US never works because the fault is always with those others, be they the Border Patrol, the Tea-Partiers or someone other than ME.
God, when-o-when are we going to read the greats and realize that reform starts with ME.
So who's surprised that the Border Patrol feel empowered by a fear and hate-filled American electorate to pretty much do what they want. Oh, yeah, I know, pointing the finger back at US never works because the fault is always with those others, be they the Border Patrol, the Tea-Partiers or someone other than ME.
God, when-o-when are we going to read the greats and realize that reform starts with ME.
5
Other than a short border in California, these agents operate in "Red" states who blame immigrants for everything from loss of jobs to violent crime. I couldn't possibly understand why they would act omnipotent.
5
Judging by recent heavily promoted articles, the NYT appears to be trying to launch the kind of flash mob assault on the U.S. borders that Ms. Merkel set off in late August on the E.U.'s borders.
Is that prudent?
Is that prudent?
5
If they didn't profile they wouldn't be doing their jobs, hello, they are Boarder Agenys, how else are they going to stop people, open lemonade stands?
8
Racial profiling at the Mexican border? Shocking! Perhaps building a wall will help. When it goes up, away goes the improper gunplay, racial profiling, excessive roughness and verbal abuse.
4
It's a shame that the vast majority of Americans have no idea that decades ago the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Border Patrol Checkpoints are exempt from the 4th Amendment. For those of us who grew up near the checkpoints, driving through them daily or weekly, they were a fact of life that began morphing into a police-state feel after 9/11.
At one time the checkpoints were little more than small trailers along the side of the road where someone might or might not be, but not anymore. Today, these checkpoints are filled with police and military monitoring the comings and goings not just on the roads but in the lands surrounding the "choke points" where the Border Patrol has established them. The multiple agencies staffing these facilities cross local, state and federal lines, but the presence of US military men and women operating high-tech surveillance equipment is just another example of how little Americans know what those along our southern border face every day.
What did the Supreme Court expect when it approved warrantless searches of every vehicle passing through the Checkpoints? That ruling gave our government the ability to do things that most Americans believe only happen in countries ruled by totalitarian regimes.
Violation of the basic rules of dignity against U.S. Citizens will not stop until the bright, burning light of national attention is focused for a lengthy period of time upon these horrors.
At one time the checkpoints were little more than small trailers along the side of the road where someone might or might not be, but not anymore. Today, these checkpoints are filled with police and military monitoring the comings and goings not just on the roads but in the lands surrounding the "choke points" where the Border Patrol has established them. The multiple agencies staffing these facilities cross local, state and federal lines, but the presence of US military men and women operating high-tech surveillance equipment is just another example of how little Americans know what those along our southern border face every day.
What did the Supreme Court expect when it approved warrantless searches of every vehicle passing through the Checkpoints? That ruling gave our government the ability to do things that most Americans believe only happen in countries ruled by totalitarian regimes.
Violation of the basic rules of dignity against U.S. Citizens will not stop until the bright, burning light of national attention is focused for a lengthy period of time upon these horrors.
12
The Department of Homeland Security should be disbanded. It never served a purpose except for the Bushes. Just another level of rogue authority to install fear into the public. Disband it now.
4
Thanks, border patrol, because our politicians won't say or do one thing to stop this immigration dishonesty and fairness. Out, all illegals and their progeny, including the Irish and French and Asians--all illegals!
1
I have found the border patrol the most courteous of all the government agents I have dealt with. Try dealing with the Mexican Federales.
6
Ever since the sky fell (9/11), government agencies have been indulging themselves in extra-legal authority and excessive abuses of basic freedoms. That being said, and living near ground zero for all this, lets look at what they do all day, and where they do it. Why isn't anyone talking about the many hundreds of illegals they save from certain death by traversing the same inhospitable, often dangerous terrain the smugglers and smuggled use. The all don't fly helos, most of them wind up hiking miles over a landscape where everything wants to bite, sting or stick you. In the Coyote Mountains and in the Buenos Aires wildlife refuge there are rattle snakes (namy speicies), mountain lions and heavily armed smugglers. It not flat, it's undulating and daunting, there are large hills, deep washes, and the rocks you've seen in western movies. Even if they get there on horseback or ATVs, they still have to hoof it and then hoof it back, tending to detainees in the process. I hike and hunt these same places frequently, and run into these guys (and gals) now and then. I shoot with them at the local range in 3 Points (google it). I won't say there aren't any bad apples, but from experience I can say there are way fewer in the BP than in the NYPD, with whom I have 50+ years experience. I'm not saying to ignore these violations, prosecute them by all means, but lets keep all this in perspective. Every agent I've met or encountered at a checkpoint has been professional and courteous.
2
My Uncle Jose was coming back from Reynosa one day when he was stopped at the check point on Hwy 281. He was probably singled out because of his brown skin and black hair. That's what we think. He was not only held in lockup overnight but all of his marijuana was seized.
3
This can't be possible. This is America. We follow the strictures of justice, fairness, and the American way. Our police and various federal agents are sworn to uphold the constitution and must follow legal procedure. American law enforcement would never harass, arrest, falsely prosecute or incarcerate any innocent person.
Seriously, if they are in jail they must have done something illegal and are criminals.
Seriously, if they are in jail they must have done something illegal and are criminals.
I have met enough border agents myself who came across as bullies and punks who were drunk on power. They would intentionally try to provoke people to anger. And they seemed to be quite accustomed to getting away with this garbage.
7
There seem to be too many insecure men in law enforcement who use their uniforms to intimidate people.
6
I remember a recruitment radio ad for the Border Patrol from about 7-8 years ago. It had helicopter rotors chopping in the background, and guys yelling something like "go! go! go!" Then some guy in a movie preview announcer voice told the listener that the Border Patrol was looking for good people to guard and protect the borders of the United States. The whole thing was even more "action-packed" than even USMC recruitment ads. So this report really comes as no surprise.
4
I live in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and we are surrounded by Border Patrol stations -- you can't go more than a few miles without having to stop and be asked if you are a US citizen. Each station has numerous cameras, lights, and intimidating-looking equipment, along with large dogs. It feels like living in a police state.
But, on the other hand, being regular 'ol white folks, we pretty much just get waved through -- even when we're pulling a trailer or in our little RV. Not so for many US citizens around here who regularly get searched and harassed. They have to have papers and be deferential, so for them, it is a police state. You guys who don't live near the border have no idea. Be grateful.
But, on the other hand, being regular 'ol white folks, we pretty much just get waved through -- even when we're pulling a trailer or in our little RV. Not so for many US citizens around here who regularly get searched and harassed. They have to have papers and be deferential, so for them, it is a police state. You guys who don't live near the border have no idea. Be grateful.
10
Humans and authority, what a toxic mix. There is simply no more dangerous animal on the planet than a human authorized to use force to impose the state's will.
5
The article claims this as abuse: "a military veteran said his children shuddered with fear in the back seat as agents repeatedly asked him if the children were really his."
Do we really want to tell border agents not to stop the trafficking of children across ur borders in the sex trade?
I personally am thrilled that people are trying to stop this.
I've been asked at airports and never object, because I know that there are very bad people in the world who make this question necessary.
Thank God they continue to try to stop this trafficking.
Do we really want to tell border agents not to stop the trafficking of children across ur borders in the sex trade?
I personally am thrilled that people are trying to stop this.
I've been asked at airports and never object, because I know that there are very bad people in the world who make this question necessary.
Thank God they continue to try to stop this trafficking.
3
In a national political environment in which Republicans have demonized Mexicans, are we supposed to be surprised by this?
The Border Patrol and Customs are asked to do very difficult jobs. They face many dangers. However, if there weren't a national, Republican-fomented culture of hostility toward Hispanics, there would be a reasonable degree of oversight. Cops facing dangers get out of hand when they're allowed to slip into abuse. We all know that.
It is about time for Democratic politicians to stop being such chickenpoop-bingo players and start speaking up about the great value brought to our economy by both Hispanic citizens and the undocumented who do all the scut jobs no one else would take.
Hilary Clinton went to the topic of this discussion last night, but ducked the central issue: that our farm economy, and thereby a good bit of our national economy, runs on the backs of illegals.
Instead, we let Republicans demonize them. We let Trump get away with talking about deporting them all. Would love to see The Donald come out to Oxnard and pick his own vegetables.
The Border Patrol and Customs are asked to do very difficult jobs. They face many dangers. However, if there weren't a national, Republican-fomented culture of hostility toward Hispanics, there would be a reasonable degree of oversight. Cops facing dangers get out of hand when they're allowed to slip into abuse. We all know that.
It is about time for Democratic politicians to stop being such chickenpoop-bingo players and start speaking up about the great value brought to our economy by both Hispanic citizens and the undocumented who do all the scut jobs no one else would take.
Hilary Clinton went to the topic of this discussion last night, but ducked the central issue: that our farm economy, and thereby a good bit of our national economy, runs on the backs of illegals.
Instead, we let Republicans demonize them. We let Trump get away with talking about deporting them all. Would love to see The Donald come out to Oxnard and pick his own vegetables.
2
This fascism is intentional: within 100 miles of ALL American borders (ie within 100 miles of the ocean in Oregon or Georgia) fully 100million+ Americans are by US Supreme Court ruling, subject to violations of their 4th and 5th Amendment rights. The intention is to "condition" Americans to submission- as the fascist global military empire President Eisenhower warned about in his 1961 farewell speech turns on itself. The Wyoming National Guard used to be an engineering group. Now it does base security for Bahrain and it will be used in places like Denver to quell domestic violence as the empire collapses into violent bankruptcy. I am a Wyoming Republican. I have been protected by FISA (1989) I am scared to death of one party rule (GOP).
4
Ummm yeah. All you have to do is watch Youtube. The abuses of border patrol agents, like that of police, is outrageous. I'm really curious as to why the majority of the gruesome crimes committed by police and documented on video are not making the mainstream news.
3
Perhaps this is just another symptom of the complete breakdown in immigration enforcement. Border Patrol agents are now on their own, left to their own devices because the Obama Administration has little actual interest in enforcement.
7
AACNY: Of course the reason border agents act like real jerks is Obama's fault. Why didn't I think of that?
4
Has anyone told these folks the war on drugs was a failure a long time ago? The street prices keep falling so the Border Patrol can hardly justify their existence much less justify rousting American citizens under the pretext of searching for drugs. Basic rule of bureaucracies, "if you can't stop the bad guys focus on law abiding non-resisting citizens". That way you can log in a record number of stops without the risk of getting hurt. Expanded border security is one big boondoggle as only our government can serve up.
7
I don't know how many times one of these fools tailed me for twenty miles or so all the way to my driveway outside the city limits as I returned home from work following my graveyard shift.
It must be my car, a Ford Escort of which the odometer now reads three hundred and six thousand miles of driving a suspicious car.
It must be my car, a Ford Escort of which the odometer now reads three hundred and six thousand miles of driving a suspicious car.
6
As a white, retired male US citizen, I was surprised that the Border Agents at the Niagara Falls crossing from Canada to the USA were aggressive, unpleasant and rude. I pity US citizens of color when confronting these thugs. It is time to change the standards we use to hire both border patrol agents and police. Disrespectful behavior on the part of public servants should result in one warning and then dismissal.
13
I just go through customs at airports and coming from Europe or Canada and the welcome they give to foreign visitors is appalling. They don't seem to learn basic etiquette - when they say "please" or "thank you", it's said so rudely that you automatically feel guilty, inferior and definitely not welcome. Other countries can have border checks without the systematic humiliation. Many people's first experience of the US is with these horrible people and it is often what they remember when they get back home.
9
I'm treated terribly at the Windsor/Detroit border crossing. It's always pleasant traveling into Canada but I get the third degree returning to Michigan. With all my "papers in order" they still pull me over for additional screening if I don't want to tell them whether I'm retired or not and if so, what job I held (retired military.) Although I'm a US citizen, I'm not treated as one.
15
I frequently travel to southern Arizona, the Ajo/Tucson area in particular. The level of harrasment on the open highway, without any legalities like probable cause, is completely out of control. These are thugs with a badge.
12
The ACLU received 6,000 pages of documents covering a three and a half year period of time, which included 138 complaints.
How many border and internal checkpoint stops does the border patrol make during a three and a half year period.
Although it is likely that BP agents are at times rude, and the East Cost liberals posting here think they are uppity, but 138 complaints does not a civil rights crisis make.
BP agents who behave badly should be disciplined and/or fired and/or prosecuted for bad behavior.
How many border and internal checkpoint stops does the border patrol make during a three and a half year period.
Although it is likely that BP agents are at times rude, and the East Cost liberals posting here think they are uppity, but 138 complaints does not a civil rights crisis make.
BP agents who behave badly should be disciplined and/or fired and/or prosecuted for bad behavior.
7
Leave Tennessee for a couple days and go to the Southwest and the obsession with liberals. One reason for limited complaints is fear.
How many people were abused by the Border Patrol but did not file a complaint?
Your slap at "East Coast liberals" reveals your true agenda in this post.
Your slap at "East Coast liberals" reveals your true agenda in this post.
Don't blame this on racial profiling alone--DHS agents are equal opportunity oppressors. One merely needs to search YouTube for "Am I being detained?" to see how these agents mistreat everyday Americans of all colors as they drive within the United States, tens of miles away from the border.
4
I hate it when they stop me for the color of my skin down at the border areas. I do not like to drive anywhere near that border because of the checkpoints and the racial profiling.
6
What a surprise, cops abusing brown and black civilians. This racism and abuse of power will continue until judges, media, prosecutors, and white americans find a way to seek and support justice and fairness. Did I mention judges? If not, then judges. You know, judges.
8
Off topic but not totally, when my young daughter with Down syndrome recently went thru airport security at San Francisco airport, she too was harassed and detained for "her knees raising questions." I noticed that also being detained was an elderly, frightened man, as well as someone in a wheel chair. "Border patrol" violations also extend to the TSA. Homeland security is a power that is indeed corrupt, nothing short of shocking. But who will raise a voice?
12
Compared to the TSA the BP are angels.
1
I applaud the dedication and work of the Border Patrol. There are over 12 million illegal immigrants in the US. If it were not for the job of the Border Patrol, there would be over 100 million illegals in the US. The accusation of racial profiling is ridiculous. I have crossed the US Mexico border many times, and have had everything in my car examined in a courteous and professional manner by the Border Patrol. Because I'm a physician they're required to review all medical equipment that I may carry on medical missions. Do I whine because they do a thorough examination of my car? Not hardly. I am just gratful they are guarding our borders and only wish we had thousands more.
8
I have ensured that the first page of my iphone apps has 'voice memos' quickly available. The next time I am stopped by the police, I will quietly turn it on. This will serve as an audible record of the stop. I might also address him or her as officer xx, reading their name from the nametag, or read off their badge number with a smile to let them know that I have identified them. So long as I don't get arrested and detained, I imagine that my recording will not be suspected. Perhaps we soon have citizen cams that we can wear just like the police.
6
The Border Patrol have a long tradition of being cowboys; rapidly increasing the size of the force couldn't have improved their quality. I am very dubious weather all the additional manpower and expense has actually done much to make the border secure, but it sure has done a lot to make American citizens near the border insecure.
The first thing the must stop is allowing the Border Patrol to search vehicles miles from the border - what American wouldn't object to being set upon by thugs in uniform 25 miles away from the border - this is an accident waiting to happen.
The first thing the must stop is allowing the Border Patrol to search vehicles miles from the border - what American wouldn't object to being set upon by thugs in uniform 25 miles away from the border - this is an accident waiting to happen.
3
Having recently been in Ciudad Juarez, my hats go off to these men and women. Seems like it is now their turn to be bashed, by the Times. The cops in the US seem to be laying low right now, who can blame them. I hope the US Border Patrol does not follow suit. If Americans knew what was transpiring just across our border, they would not comlain about a few rude agents.
11
I stopped going casually to Canada via car some ago due to the following. I was in Detroit for a convention, rented a nice car drove a few of us to Windsor Ontario, just a tunnel ride away, to the (legal) casino. Upon return to the US side, a Border Agent pulled out of the car and interrogated the only non-white occupant: born in L.A. of Chinese descent, college educated, president of a large company in our field. Agent refused to believe he was who his papers said he was. Finally, after the agent came to inspect our (European types form the Northeastern US) papers and we vouched for him, was he very grudgingly allowed back into his native country. If our buddy was Middle Eastern or Hispanic, and alone, what would have happened? Here is a flip side to police work by intelligent folks with a purpose. A friend who had emigrated to Israel fro the Ukraine only a couple of years before was pulled aside re-entering Israel and interrogated for a couple of hours. They finally told him why it took so long. He had no trace of a Russian accent which was suspicious, but they figured out quickly he was legit and unusually smart. Then they spent another hour grilling him to see how he reacted under stress before offering him a chance and urging him to apply for a job in Israeli intelligence (which he declined).
4
The proliferation of guns, the racial profiling, the shoot-first mentality of border patrol and law enforcement all have me seriously considering moving to another country. But what elf-respecting civilized country would want an American as an immigrant?
12
We used to live in Tucson. We've been through that checkpoint dozens of times, north of Arivaca. We used to camp in the Huachuca mountains and it took some getting used to, being that close to the border, in a total militarized zone. Every time we were down there border patrol helicopters would circle our camp until we walked into the open where they could see us, and waved. Then they'd leave. Or we'd be sitting around the campfire and five or six border patrol vehicles would come zooming up on us, only to leave, seemingly disappointed that it was just a bunch of white people camping. I can be sure that profiling goes on a that checkpoint. We were always waved through without stopping. Never stopped. My wife used to laugh and say clearly they're not looking for a white couple in a Subaru. They weren't. In fact a friend and I drove down there one weekend to cut a Christmas tree. We took my truck that had a shell with curtains in it for privacy. We thought for sure we'd be stopped, a pickup with a shell, that they couldn't see into. Nope, just waved us right through. We joked that WE should be smuggling people because they clearly are not spending a second on white people, even white dudes in a truck with a covered bed.
10
If you are going to be crossing the borders to Mexico or Canada, it is time to get a dash cam, and maybe a body cam too.
Then when such abuses occur, not only report them, but put them on the internet so they can not be disputed. It might even pay to have a hidden cam in your car, just in case one of them decides to confiscate the other cams.
Then when such abuses occur, not only report them, but put them on the internet so they can not be disputed. It might even pay to have a hidden cam in your car, just in case one of them decides to confiscate the other cams.
17
It's important to remember that very few border patrol agents apply to U.S. Customs and Border Protection without first being rejected by other law enforcement agencies. The fact that many come from military backgrounds does not help. In other words, these folks are not the best and brightest and should be treated with calm and care, as one would treat disturbed children or other people's dogs. Better to walk or drive away from these encounters with body intact than to become a statistic.
37
I want to be fair about this. There are undoubtedly agents as you describe, but there are exceptions. One trip I took from Stanford to see more of the country took us up the west coast to Seattle and Vancouver Island, then the trans-Canada highway to Lake Louise, then via Calgary and the Waterton Lakes international peace park, reentering the US in Montana.
We were 4 male Stanford graduate students: I'm English, one was born in Hungary but Norwegian, one was a white Peruvian, and the last a Chinese Peruvian.
The agent checked our papers- all OK, then spoke in Spanish to the Peruvians, mixed with Chinese for one of them, and then in Norwegian with a dash of Hungarian to the last. He was polite at all times, and I could not but be impressed that someone who spoke so many languages was at this remote outpost.
We were 4 male Stanford graduate students: I'm English, one was born in Hungary but Norwegian, one was a white Peruvian, and the last a Chinese Peruvian.
The agent checked our papers- all OK, then spoke in Spanish to the Peruvians, mixed with Chinese for one of them, and then in Norwegian with a dash of Hungarian to the last. He was polite at all times, and I could not but be impressed that someone who spoke so many languages was at this remote outpost.
4
That's why he was at the remote outpost: he had a brain and couldn't be trusted in a sensitive area like the Mexican border, where thuggery is the main job requirement.
Great, so we probably shouldn't leave our own country for a bit of tourism because we don't want to get near these people when we return?
I cross the border at Juárez-El Paso pretty regularly and have unpleasant experiences with the CBP agents nearly every time. As per their training, they attempt to impose their authority over everyone they come across and regularly denigrate the people they 'serve.' About two months ago I drove across with two friends, all US citizens with passports/ID. The officer that questioned us was super-aggressive and pulled us into secondary questioning because I "was evasive" in responding to him. We went through the normal repetition of questions and after a while I got frustrated with them, so they confiscated my keys, forced us out, and emptied out the car. This took about half an hour. They actually told us that the only reason they were doing this was because I had a "bad attitude." In my opinion, this was an arbitrary and unlawful detention, but this is their normal operating procedure. If the US prides itself in its 'rule of law,' its migration authorities show how much of a mockery it is.
120
I used to live in Washington State and would go to Vancouver, B.C. once in a while. The Canadian Border Patrol was always polite, while the U.S. Border Guards could be rude, aggressive or friendly depending upon what I never figured out. It did seem arbitrary and some guards questioned lengthily while other guards would wave you on after a friendly question.
I always dreaded the U.S. Border.
I was a single woman, in her 50's to 60's when crossing the US/Canadian border.
I always dreaded the U.S. Border.
I was a single woman, in her 50's to 60's when crossing the US/Canadian border.
3
One man's "mockery" is another man's enforcement. Would you prefer NO Border Patrol enforcement....living in El Paso, such non-enforcement could get quite exciting. And dangerous...........
I think your misunderstanding what "serve" means. They aren't there specifically to serve you the border crosser. They are there to serve the other 330 million Americans by preventing illegal entry and smuggling. People approaching the border are treated like potential undocumented immigrants or smugglers because that's what they are until they reasonably demonstrate otherwise. With "profiling" I think we need to face reality. There are very few fair skinned Mexicans who speak no-accent English and the few there are don't need to cross illegally. So people that meet this "white" profile are a lot less likely to be questioned hard about their nationality. Conversely there are lots of hispanics on both sides of the border who speak good but not perfect English. So very hard to determine nationality without good ID.
1
My two experiences of crossing into and returning from Canada since 9/11 left ugly memories that won't go away. Prior to that, border officers were courteous and professional while still being firm in conducting the business they needed to do. In each of the more recent encounters, offices were rude, overbearing and absurdly officious.
They came across as lazily trained uniforms pumped up with self-importance, more motivated to intimidate and frighten, rather than perform what I thought their job really was: weeding out bad guys. With each encounter, I've been left seriously questioning their professional competence. My respect for American border guards and Homeland Security took a lasting tumble.
As an American, i need to apologize to our Canadian and Mexican neighbors who have to be subjected to this country's ongoing over-reaction to 9/11.
They came across as lazily trained uniforms pumped up with self-importance, more motivated to intimidate and frighten, rather than perform what I thought their job really was: weeding out bad guys. With each encounter, I've been left seriously questioning their professional competence. My respect for American border guards and Homeland Security took a lasting tumble.
As an American, i need to apologize to our Canadian and Mexican neighbors who have to be subjected to this country's ongoing over-reaction to 9/11.
30
I'ma Canadian citizen. I'm 73. I served in the Marines in " 63/"64. Came back to Canada in "67. Then spending my winters in Florida.. After 9/11 , I cross the border to go to Florida, I was search and was told I was illegally going to Florida , cause they found my bank account in Florida , which proved that I was living illegally in the south. They made me give back my green card and warned me I would get arrested if I tried to cross the border again. Mind you that was ONE agent and I do not judge. Since then I have returned every year back to Florida and never never was I annoyed by Border Patrol again. I guess I got the wrong person at the wrong time.
2
Since 9/11 I have gone to Cuba, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Peru, Costa Rica, Canada 25+ times, Europe 40+ times. I deal with the borders. It is what it is. I have a passport. I present it. I claim my goods.
But when I drive around California or Arizona, or Upstate New York, leave me alone.
But when I drive around California or Arizona, or Upstate New York, leave me alone.
1
My existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post.
11
So, you think you are part of an elite warrior tribe; you are not. You are a border patrol officer. You are basically a local cop who works for the feds. You are not that special. You are a small cog in a very big machine running amok. You don't care about the machine and are even less inclined to care about fixing it. You don't have the time or inclination to explain yourself to the people you work for. You use words like, "who do you think YOU are, questioning MY authority?" You are in the wrong job.
23
Did you order the code red?
4
Im not gay, but I DO want to kiss you, sir!
How many people do you need to round up 11 million illegal immigrants? How many of them would be properly trained? How many abuses will Hispanics have to endure because of ethnic profiling?
All the Democratic candidates supported Immigration Reform last night. They will get our support. And anybody else will have to figure out how to win elections against a growing sector of the population.
All the Democratic candidates supported Immigration Reform last night. They will get our support. And anybody else will have to figure out how to win elections against a growing sector of the population.
11
Border agents are particularly given to self-importance and an attitude that you have no rights. As a particularly obnoxious agent once told me: "You have no rights, only what we give you." When I told him that every time he took away rights from citizens, he reduced his own rights, he told me to step inside, evidently where they would give me some more trouble. When I asked for the name of the agent so that I could file a complaint, they suggested that I go on my way. I got a little sense of how it must be to live in a dictatorship.
46
Despite the fact that I am sure that there are some fine hard working border guards who are not abusive, I have long believed that a certain type of individual can be found in this and other similar areas of employment. More often than not, they are men, and to a lesser degree, women, who are lacking in self worth, and one way to feel better about themselves is to lord it over and abuse others. I, myself, had a similar bad experience some years ago upon my return from Italy when I arrived at Kennedy Intl. Airport where I was met by several very arrogant and verbally abusive customs officers. Needless to say, my opinion of US Customs was influenced by these obnoxious characters who, because they wear a uniform, seem to think that they can act like Mussolini and often do. So, I for one, am pleased to learn that the ACLU is on the case, and that those who are guilty will be held responsible.
25
You couldn't be more correct. Positions of authority attract a certain type of people to fill them. Unfortunately, it's the wrong type, as nobody worthy would be willing to do it. That in itself speaks volumes about the place this country finds itself.
I tried for over 10 years while working in HR at CBP to hold Border Patrol Agents accountable for their misconduct but it is very difficult given their union (American Federation of Government Employees), arbitrators, and union attorneys. There are many Border Patrol Agents who are paid their regular salaries while working as union stewards representing other Agents in disciplinary matters. CBP also pays lots of money to arbitrators and to union attorneys to reimburse them for representing Border Patrol Agents. The ACLU champions government employees property right to their salaries and their right to due process, for example their right to a union attorney and arbitration over a letter of reprimand or a one-day suspension for misconduct. Yes, Border Patrol Agents should be held accountable for misconduct but the government should be able to require body cameras (just as there are cameras recording inspectional areas at the land border ports of entry) and should be able to at least impose warning letters or short term suspensions without unions making a federal case of it.
16
Not enough. The public should be able to videotape their interactions with CBP.
One thing this article leaves out regarding checkpoints near the border: what "near the border" means. U.S. Customs and Border Protection have been empowered by federal regulations to operate anywhere within 100 miles of the border. Checkpoints have been set up quite a distance from the border, and it's not just the border with Mexico. People are being pulled off of buses and Amtrak trains that never cross a border, at the whim of Border Patrol officers:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/when-the-border-patrol-come...
Do we really want to set up a zone in the United States containing 2/3 of the population, in which a citizen who has crossed no border can be questioned -- and due to widespread abuse, searched and detained -- by border officers? Does the Constitution matter so little these days?
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/when-the-border-patrol-come...
Do we really want to set up a zone in the United States containing 2/3 of the population, in which a citizen who has crossed no border can be questioned -- and due to widespread abuse, searched and detained -- by border officers? Does the Constitution matter so little these days?
36
They go further than 100 miles. I see them patrolling around Baton Rouge all the time.
We HAVE set up that zone. In Vermont, it extends to south of White River Junction and until the VT senators complained bitterly for a long time, there was a check point on the highway that seemed to only stop cars with teens so they could get their jollies harrasing them.
About three years ago I planned a trip to Big Bend NP with a friend. In a remote area in the middle of the day we were pulled over by Border Patrol and told to open the trunk of the car and remove all our belongings for inspection. I asked the agent why, considering we were in a rental car (a tiny one at that), had given him our NYS licenses, explained where we were from and where we were going and he angrily responded telling me if I did not wish to spend the remainder of my vacation in jail I had to do as he said. We got out of the car, were separated (by this time another agent arrived), asked to repeat our story of why were were in Tx during Easter Holiday to go camping in Big Bend, what did for employment in NYS, and when the search of our car revealed nothing more than food, a cooler with more food, sleeping bags a tent and a few books the agents told me they did not believe my story because, in his words, "There's no way two Jew teachers from NYC would come all the way out here to just go camping in Big Bend." At this point I felt very uncomfortable and asked for his name and that of a supervisor who I could speak with. He put his hand over his name tag and told me to pick up my belongings and go before he had me arrested. It was a terrible incident that has left me unwilling to go back to rural Texas anytime soon...although Big Bend NP is beautiful. Border Patrol should not mean unimpeded violations of your rights on random rural roadways across the SW.
58
The Canadian border guards are every last bit this bad betweeb eastern Washington State and British Columbia. If we knew what we'd go through just to take a short day trip up there, we'd have never tried. And no, Canadians, we won't be returning.
10
cw, all the more reason for the US to annex Canada. This scourge you were put through would come to an end.
2
I have generally found the Canadian agents, while direct, far more polite. In fact, I find Canadians, as a whole, to be more polite than Americans. Returning to the "States" is generally more onnerous than entring Canada.
About ten years ago my wife and two minor childeren were returing from a weekend in Niagara Falls, Canada. Upon reentering the U.S. our vehicle was apparantly subjected to a random search. I was asked for my keys, by a rather rude agent, and we were told to leave our car as he escorted us into the office while the vehicle was searched.
We sat on a bench along the wall and I was called up first to explain what we were doing in Canada. I said "sight-seeing" but was asked to elaborate. After naming a number of tourist sites and restaurants, I was cut off. My wife and children (nervous), one at a time, had to go up to the desk and give their names though, all had passports. The agent, whose ego was only exceeded by somewhat uncouth grammar, then unceremoniously, told us to return to our vehicle.
There we sat for ten minutes waiting for instructions and my keys. Finally, another agent (female) approached the car and asked was was wrong telling me the check was finished. I explained we were told to return to the car and I had no keys. Somewhat embarrassed, she went inside and returned with my keys apologizing for the confusion. I tried to dismiss the agent's lack of professionalism to my childen while justifying to myself my tax dollars at work.
About ten years ago my wife and two minor childeren were returing from a weekend in Niagara Falls, Canada. Upon reentering the U.S. our vehicle was apparantly subjected to a random search. I was asked for my keys, by a rather rude agent, and we were told to leave our car as he escorted us into the office while the vehicle was searched.
We sat on a bench along the wall and I was called up first to explain what we were doing in Canada. I said "sight-seeing" but was asked to elaborate. After naming a number of tourist sites and restaurants, I was cut off. My wife and children (nervous), one at a time, had to go up to the desk and give their names though, all had passports. The agent, whose ego was only exceeded by somewhat uncouth grammar, then unceremoniously, told us to return to our vehicle.
There we sat for ten minutes waiting for instructions and my keys. Finally, another agent (female) approached the car and asked was was wrong telling me the check was finished. I explained we were told to return to the car and I had no keys. Somewhat embarrassed, she went inside and returned with my keys apologizing for the confusion. I tried to dismiss the agent's lack of professionalism to my childen while justifying to myself my tax dollars at work.
7
I've never met a rude Canadian customs officer. At least 50% of American ones are rude at best.
3
Another great use of my highest bracket quarterly income tax remittances. Oh well, better get back to work now so I can earn more money to help support useful Federal expenditures like this.
7
The article is welcome in highlighting rampant and unpunished criminal activity by yet another arm of the Federal govt, like the DEA and the FBI, opaque and unaccountable. But the article makes it seem like the CBP only operates at the actual physical borders of our country when in fact they do not. See this article:
https://www.aclu.org/constitution-100-mile-border-zone
The real "border" extends 100 miles from the physical border. So if you are driving within 100 miles of our border with Mexico as far as the CBP is concerned you have no constitutional rights at all. There are many articles about this disgusting activity. The U.S. is way down the road to a police state.
https://www.aclu.org/constitution-100-mile-border-zone
The real "border" extends 100 miles from the physical border. So if you are driving within 100 miles of our border with Mexico as far as the CBP is concerned you have no constitutional rights at all. There are many articles about this disgusting activity. The U.S. is way down the road to a police state.
17
The behavior of the Border Patrol harkens back to the totalitarian governments of the Third Reich and the Soviet Union. It's as though we have become the United Stasi of America. What with mass surveillance of our citizens; demands to "show me your papers" (e.g., DHS has declared that a NYS drivers license will no longer be sufficient for domestic airline travel); and a militarized police force that roughs up and eliminates minorities and anyone else who does not supplicate. We have a US Senator who threatens to adjudicate the guilt or innocence of a soldier on trial; and a Congress that demands allegiance to the party caucus rather than to the country we once knew. It is so sad to witness to what has transpired in the name of security.
19
Until recently, all European nations—not just Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union—asked to see your papers. Now people who are not citizens of the European Union have to show documents when they enter an EU country. The European Union is currently working on a "European Border Surveillance System" to reduce the number of illegal immigrants who enter the European Union undetected. The “system of systems” will modernize and expand national border surveillance systems and create national external border control coordination centers in member States forming the eastern and European Unions’ southern maritime borders.
4
I agree. We should eliminate these checks and just let anyone in. problem solved.
1
On a return trip from my parent's house on the Tohono O'odham reservation, which straddles the border in south central Arizona, my husband and I came to the border patrol checkpoint heading back to Tucson on AZ hwy 86. The inspecting agent was particularly rude and questioned my husband and I repeatedly, even after I rolled down the windows to show him the inside of my car.
In past encounters when my husband was driving, we were never accosted by border agents but simply waved through, this time we were given extra scrutiny. I figured this was because my husband is a White man, whereas I am American Indian with brown skin. Even worse was when we complained to the agent in charge about how his agent was violating our rights, the agent tells us we have no rights at a checkpoint. I told him we would be calling the ACLU and we'll see who has no rights in this country.
In past encounters when my husband was driving, we were never accosted by border agents but simply waved through, this time we were given extra scrutiny. I figured this was because my husband is a White man, whereas I am American Indian with brown skin. Even worse was when we complained to the agent in charge about how his agent was violating our rights, the agent tells us we have no rights at a checkpoint. I told him we would be calling the ACLU and we'll see who has no rights in this country.
107
Izzyeddy -- my understanding is that Border Patrol has no authority over citizens. None. Perhaps they claim the border stop is also a law enforcement effort to stop DUIs and drug trafficking, which means they can question us, but frankly, I wish I knew what civil disobedience we could employ to make them stop.
3
perhaps the CBP needs to set up some check points around Indian Reserrvations? After all , these are "soveriegn" nations.
2
"my understanding is that Border Patrol has no authority over citizens. None."
That's probably incorrect. As agents of the state, border patrol agents have the same discretion as police officers do, that is, they are legally empowered to act upon their own assessment of any situation. It's called "police discretion."
That's probably incorrect. As agents of the state, border patrol agents have the same discretion as police officers do, that is, they are legally empowered to act upon their own assessment of any situation. It's called "police discretion."
2
Some friends of mine, a couple with four children, were passing the border to visit relatives a few years back and the youngest child, a baby of 6 months was crying. The border patrol agent demanded that that "Shut that baby up or else!"
19
I have suffered demeaning treatment by Border Patrol employees at Eagle Pass, Roma, McAllen, Progreso all in the State of Texas. But this treatment is nothing new I have been object of this type of treatment since May 1965. I am an american citizen, born in Mexico, who served in the United States Air Force for 21+ years and I also suffered the same demeaning treatment, and racial discrimination. I have suffered race profiling by the Texas State Patrol. Some things will never change!
17
They should introduce a trial program that include on body border patrol camera/microphones.(under no circumstances should the cameras be disabled or turned off) Complaints from the public could then be reviewed by an independent body to determine legitimacy.
13
Those who whine about the abusive practices of Border Patrol agents have no idea the conditions under which they are required to work. Illegal (oh, so sorry, "unauthorized" is now the me PC word) immigrants cross the border with impunity on a daily basis. Some carry drugs while most do not. Since the PC crowd insists on not requiring legal residents or even newly minted citizens to speak English, Border Patrol agents have a thankless job of trying to sort out who is legally entitled to be in the United States and who is not. Added to this issue is the need to intercept drugs and contraband at the border check points. If border residents are legal, let them present their papers when stopped. If they are illegal, they are not entitled to the same rights or the same treatment as those who are. Has the ACLU overlooked the definition of the word ILLEGAL??
8
What papers am I required to carry on my person in this Country? There is no requirement while driving a car other than drivers license, insurance and ownership of the car. On none of my three vehicles or my ODL does it say where the heck I was born or whether or not a citizen. What you forget is that Law Enforcement officials also must comply with the law. I only thank the LE that respect and protect.
12
stephen, I agree (as do many illegal immigrants coming into our nation). No papers should be shown!!
1
Do you understand that:
American Citizens have had their cash and property stolen, been harassed or even assaulted, etc. inside the United States???,
Numerous American Citizens have been they won't be charged and even told to come pick up their car, only to find it cut apart and totaled???
American Citizens can't even get compensation from the federal government about the loss of property???
American Citizens have had their cash and property stolen, been harassed or even assaulted, etc. inside the United States???,
Numerous American Citizens have been they won't be charged and even told to come pick up their car, only to find it cut apart and totaled???
American Citizens can't even get compensation from the federal government about the loss of property???
9
Interesting given I live in the CBP's Tucson sector.
About 4-5 years ago, I advertised a late model, high end pickup truck for sale in Cochise County, AZ with an asking price considerably in excess of $10K. Two local Border Patrol agents separately contacted me to purchase my truck for cash.
When I told them I would have to report to my bank any cash transaction in excess of $10K, they both declined to conclude the transaction.
About 4-5 years ago, I advertised a late model, high end pickup truck for sale in Cochise County, AZ with an asking price considerably in excess of $10K. Two local Border Patrol agents separately contacted me to purchase my truck for cash.
When I told them I would have to report to my bank any cash transaction in excess of $10K, they both declined to conclude the transaction.
23
Why would you voluntarily tell your bank about a personal, private, cash transaction? You don't need your bank's permission to sell a truck. Or deposit money. Or NOT deposit your money. I'm totally confused. Why do you care who buys your truck? Most people WANT cash.
1
Tom, no doubt he was planning to deposit the cash. Banks are required under federal law to report any cash transaction (withdrawal or deposit) involving more than $10,000. The purpose is to combat money laundering.
My take on his comment is that he believed the agents had cash that they had obtained illegally from bribes. It was not about his short term profit, it was about honest government.
I would note that Mexico has inland checkpoints on their side of the border too. I lived on border for three years and passed these checkpoints regularly. The Border Patrol agents were always professional and courteous. The checkpoints never slowed my travel. There is only one checkpoint on each north-bound road and it is the last check before a vehicle’s occupants and cargo are free in the United States. The other side of our southern border is a violent place with little rule of law as we know it. If the alternative is what our neighbors endure on the Mexican side, any inconvenience is well worthwhile. The Border Patrol is there to protect us and I’m glad they are.
13
Nobody is questioning the existence or authority of the the Border Control; what's being discussed is abuse of that authority. The fact that somebody is protecting the country doesn't mean that they are entitled to abuse those whom they are protecting.
This is not a difficult or particularly nuanced distinction.
This is not a difficult or particularly nuanced distinction.
1
Since Obama basically opened the door to illegals to come and stay, why should we be surprised that our border with Mexico is functionally a war zone? It should be the clear policy of any law enforcement, fireman, medical professional, or business owner to immediately report illegal aliens for prompt deportation. No exceptions, period.
11
Only Obama? Remember, the US Chamber of COmmerce and US Association of Restauranteurs demands free labor movement. They claim there is a shortage of labor.
Why do liberals not understand?
Why do liberals not understand?
It's been like that since long before Obama was elected. In fact it ramped up big time in '98, '99 when we were there. That Arivaca checkpoint was little more than a turnout at first. Now it's like a permanent border checkpoint.
1
Why?State and local law enforcement, fireman, medical professionals, and business owners have never had any responsibility for enforcing Federal laws. Should they also be required to report any suspected IRS fraud? Violations of Federal air-quality standards?
2
Once the wild wild west, always the wild wild west. Desert and cactus just historically seems to lend itself to lawlessness. Some things never change, no matter how smart we humans tell ourselves we are.
Several years ago we were visiting acquaintances who operate a business in an Arizona border town. Their property is across the road from the border fence itself (they are Anglo, incidentally). The people in question have a large dog that looks a bit intimidating-- it barks when you drive onto the property-- but when you get out of the car it licks your hand and demands to be patted. A real mush. We noticed that the dog was walking with a limp and asked why. Apparently it had been shot by a Border Patrol officer the year before. Seems the dog had barked at a BP truck as it drove by and the officer(s) responded by shooting the dog without even getting out of the truck, and then drove off, leaving it there to die. The dog barely survived. All this because it had barked at a passing vehicle. I asked if a complaint had been lodged and was told that in a small town it was foolhardy to complain about a Border Patrol action, no matter which side of the border you lived on. I'm not equating the shooting of dogs with the shooting of people, but I think the casual callousness of this incident speaks volumes about the Border Patrol and its severe attitude problem. I have had a couple of intimidating encounters with the Arizona BP myself at highway checkpoints and I'm a 60'ish Caucasian whose papers are in perfect order. At those times I was very thankful my skin was the "right" color.
99
if there were not so many illegals "of color" trying to cross the border this would never have happened.
1
"was told that in a small town it was foolhardy to complain about a Border Patrol action"
Exactly, as I was told by an attorney not to report being assaulted or having my cash and other property stolen, if I "wanted to remain healthy". Border Patrol used to hire Law Enforcement Officers who could not get a job with a legitimate Police Department, for good reasons.
Exactly, as I was told by an attorney not to report being assaulted or having my cash and other property stolen, if I "wanted to remain healthy". Border Patrol used to hire Law Enforcement Officers who could not get a job with a legitimate Police Department, for good reasons.
5
It may be worth mentioning that American boarder guards can be pretty rude just about everywhere. In years of international travel, I have met one rude Canadian guard, but nothing but proper, polite guards in all the other countries I have visited, including the DDR. Among western countries, we seem to be alone in thinking that heavily-armed, rude guards keep us safe by intimidating travelers.
17
Arizona isn't the only place where the border patrol stops drivers for questioning. All three roads connecting the Big Bend National Park in Texas have stations where all drivers are required to stop for questioning by border patrol agents. These are Hwy 385 to Marathon, 118 to Alpine and 67 between Presidio and Marfa. So far, I haven't had any problem with them although they tend to ask questions such as where are you going and where do you plan to stay for the night? The officers have leashed german shepards and they carry guns. Since these stations are located far from anywhere and there is very little traffic, if anything goes wrong, the only witnesses would probably be border patrol officers.
22
If you ask Donald Trump he'd say that the border patrol officers are asking too many questions and not shooting enough.
7
Disgusting. However, it is articles such as these that make me renew my ACLU membership each year, and to donate far above the minimum required. The phrase power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely comes to mind. These so called officers abuse those who are least able to defend themselves, unfortunately, these positions attract that very same type of individual whose traits are so abhorrent.
14
Do you personally know any agents? My son is a Federal Agent serving in the Border Patrol. He doesn't have "abhorrent traits." He has been beaten on many occasions while pursuing people/drug dealers sneaking into the country. He is verbally abused when he works the checkpoints, mostly by American citizens claiming their rights are violated because they have to stop at a checkpoint. Perhaps you could do a "ride along" so you can see what it is like out there.
8
The abuse of 4th Amendment rights by the Border Patrol appears to be flagrant. However, claims of racial profiling overreach. The Supreme Court has held that such profiling is permissible near the border.
In the relevant decision, a unanimous court observed that "The Government also points out that trained officers can recognize the characteristic appearance of persons who live in Mexico, relying on such factors as the mode of dress and haircut. In all situations, the officer is entitled to assess the facts in light of his experience in detecting illegal entry and smuggling."
Contrary to the claim made in the article, the above language is unambiguous. Moreover, a contrary holding makes no sense. If the Border Patrol cannot consider the Mexican appearance of subjects, is it supposed to stop Caucasians, blacks, and Asians for suspicion of illegally crossing the Mexican border?
In the relevant decision, a unanimous court observed that "The Government also points out that trained officers can recognize the characteristic appearance of persons who live in Mexico, relying on such factors as the mode of dress and haircut. In all situations, the officer is entitled to assess the facts in light of his experience in detecting illegal entry and smuggling."
Contrary to the claim made in the article, the above language is unambiguous. Moreover, a contrary holding makes no sense. If the Border Patrol cannot consider the Mexican appearance of subjects, is it supposed to stop Caucasians, blacks, and Asians for suspicion of illegally crossing the Mexican border?
8
we need to stop racial profiling! Anyone who looks hispanic and cannot speak english, heading northward, should not be legally stopped. They should be let through!!!
Are you okay with the illegal deportation to Mexico, of a 13 year old for not having picture I.D. showing that he was an American Citizen???
1
Hate to break it to you, but Border Patrol agents have every right, and a duty, to search people and packages entering the US. This includes áreas near the border. I only wish they did so more often. If you dont like it, stay home.
3
If you did a survey of drivers stopped on the NJ Turnpike you would probably get many complaints of being stopped for no reason by rude cops. Throw in some racial profiling too if you can. Why is this story significant?
8
I live near the border, and I see these agents everyday! They think they are above the law! They do not observe school zones, speed limits, or for that matter anything related tto motor vehicle laws of the state of Texas! This is a sad state of affairs!
24
I do not believe such behavior from the Customs and Border Patrol is unique to the Mexican border. I have experienced rude, bigoted, and unprofessional behavior at the Minneapolis St Paul International airport which I fly into many times a year. Members of the CBP need far better training - in recognizing who might be a threat, and how to deal with travelers more professionally. Most people who look different are not a threat.
16
I live in San Diego County, and I deal with this regularly.
There is an immigration checkpoint across I5 Northbound just inside Orange County and one on California 94 a good 20 or 30 miles from the border. I've been stopped. My wife has been waved through, she's white but not an American CItizen. My kids have been stopped. My 20 year old had her car searched while driving along a California 94. It turns out there were no Mexicans in her trunk.
These checkpoints are a recipe for disaster. Drivers are put on guard. The HomeLand Security agents are put in an unfair position. Leave the borders at the border.
There is an immigration checkpoint across I5 Northbound just inside Orange County and one on California 94 a good 20 or 30 miles from the border. I've been stopped. My wife has been waved through, she's white but not an American CItizen. My kids have been stopped. My 20 year old had her car searched while driving along a California 94. It turns out there were no Mexicans in her trunk.
These checkpoints are a recipe for disaster. Drivers are put on guard. The HomeLand Security agents are put in an unfair position. Leave the borders at the border.
12
so anyone illegally passing the border gets a free pass to make it northward?
I think technically many of the constitutional rights that otherwise may apply don't apply at border points. Which makes sense given that we could theoretically shoot to kill any border intruder as an exercise of sovereignty.
3
That is true at the actual border. But remember these checkpoints are up to 50 miles inside the United States. The people going thru them are on U.S. soil and are NOT crossing a border.
You still have the right to remain silent.
You still have the right to remain silent.
border agenst should only be allowed to stop and frisk within a 100 feet of the border. That way any illegal entrant who gets past that point gets a free get out of jail card. Plus these are the strong and healthy individuals we want in our nation (i.e., can runn the 100 foot dash in only a few seconds).
wow..racial profiling because the border patrol only stops Hispanics coming over the Mexican border... is the ACLU for real?
18
Not so. They are authorised to stop anyone anywhere within 50 (or is it 100) miles of a coastline or border. I have never crossed the Mexican border (except in a commercial flight, but I have been stopped on a Texas Interstate while crossing the country to see more of it. It would be hard to see me as Hispanic.
2
Accidents, since 1919, including "illness" and "aircraft accidents"? This is about the safest job ever invented.
6
yes, we all know that violence and guns are not common among drug and people smuglers along the border. We should disarm the border patrol. That would make America a safer place to enter.
Do you actually read articles prior to responding to them? The question is no whether the Border Control ought to enforce the law; the question is whether they abuse the powers granted to them and follow the laws and regulations of this country. Enforcing one set of laws does no provide carte blanche immunity from the requirements of all other laws.
1
Border Patrol agents can consider race, ethnicity and national origin when stopping people at airports, border crossings and checkpoints.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/06/us/politics/obama-to-impose-racial-pro...
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/06/us/politics/obama-to-impose-racial-pro...
16
Thanks President Obama for vastly expanding a highly militarized border police in exchange for immigration reform that never occurred. You have succeeded in abrogating the rights of American citizens and gotten nothing done on immigration. Time to stop compromising on the Constitution.
8
For the top tiers,"police state = good"; for the lower tiers. "police state" = "police state".
6
The law should be enforced (and/or reinforced), and border agents culpable of abuse prosecuted and/or fired and/or locked up.
6
no, we should get rid of the border. That way all latin americans can immigrate to America. America will become a far better place then.
Why do liberals not understand?
Why do liberals not understand?
I live in the Buffalo, NY area and I have read about similar incidents in the local press when U.S. citizens cross the border from Canada and are subject to abuse from agents because of their appearance or for asking questions. Obviously, all agents should undergo a training program on the proper way to interact with people crossing the border. Perhaps also all agents should be fitted with cameras to record all interactions with the public as we are now demanding for police officers.
70
As a white, retired male US citizen, I was surprised that the Border Agents at the Niagara Falls crossing from Canada to the USA were aggressive, unpleasant and rude. I pity US citizens of color when confronting these thugs. It is time to change the standards we use to hire both border patrol agents and police. Disrespectful behavior on the part of public servants should result in one warning and then dismissal.
1
I agree with Mark. I live in upstate NY and have not crossed into Canada in many years. The last time I did, my car was searched and my two young kids terrorized by border thugs in uniform who kept asking them if we were their parents. My kids are in their 30's, and none of us have been to Canada in over 25 years.
Have we had a Republican President the past seven years or a liberal Democrat in the White House? If it had been a Republican I am sure the comments posted here would be accusing the Republicans of being racists.
I'm a liberal Democrat who voted twice for the President but things like this and the treatment of our veterans at VA Hospitals cannot keep being blamed on George W. Bush. The President is now completing his second term in office and it's long past the time that he correct horrible mistakes like this.
I'm a liberal Democrat who voted twice for the President but things like this and the treatment of our veterans at VA Hospitals cannot keep being blamed on George W. Bush. The President is now completing his second term in office and it's long past the time that he correct horrible mistakes like this.
12
Why would the NYT even bother to quote a lawyer for the City of Nogales who says:
“How many non-Hispanic-looking persons get subjected to non-immigration questions? How many declarations of U.S. citizenship by non-Hispanic-looking persons are subject to further questioning?"
Obviously the truthful answer is the one that the lawyer wants. That is, virtually no non-Hispanic looking persons are subjected to this treatment BECAUSE NOGALES ARIZONA IS VIRTUALLY ENTTIRELY HISPANIC!
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04/0449640.html
Stop printing what superficially appears to be an illumination of anti-Hispanic policies, but what is in fact merely misleading propaganda!
20
These issues will all go away when the Donald builds a wall along the boarder with Mexican money. It will be huge and fabulous!
13
Will Trump's public readings of Mein Kampf also be "huge and fabulous!"???
As a longtime contributor to the ACLU I am happy to read of my money being put to good use.
When a person takes a job as an officer for the federal government, it is a part of their position to understand the Constitutional rights of the people they are supposed to be protecting. When they start taking a cowboy mentality, such as what we are hearing of in this article, it is a recipe for a violation of civil rights.
The Dept of Homeland Security is a huge agency incapable of providing the oversight needed. Plus when Commissioner Kerlikowske says that "more can be done." It is a gross understatement.
When a person takes a job as an officer for the federal government, it is a part of their position to understand the Constitutional rights of the people they are supposed to be protecting. When they start taking a cowboy mentality, such as what we are hearing of in this article, it is a recipe for a violation of civil rights.
The Dept of Homeland Security is a huge agency incapable of providing the oversight needed. Plus when Commissioner Kerlikowske says that "more can be done." It is a gross understatement.
110
This article doesn't mention it but a large part of the problem is the Supreme Court decided many years ago that Constitutional protections such as due process and the requirement to obtain a warrant before searching personal property do not apply at the border. If these agents act like the Bill of Rights does not pertain to them, it's because it doesn't.
96
@Widjet: "... Constitutional protections ... do not apply at the border."
The article should have made it clear that these incidents do not occur at the border. The CBP operates checkpoints INSIDE US territory. From the article: "A woman at a checkpoint between Phoenix and Tucson said an agent threatened to use a stun gun on her brother in 2012 after he asked why their vehicle was being searched."
The article should have made it clear that these incidents do not occur at the border. The CBP operates checkpoints INSIDE US territory. From the article: "A woman at a checkpoint between Phoenix and Tucson said an agent threatened to use a stun gun on her brother in 2012 after he asked why their vehicle was being searched."
8
Why should the constitutional protections granted US citizens apply to illegal aliens?
14
Did you read the sentence "“Citizens, permanent legal residents, people who have lived in the borderlands for generations — that’s who’s making these complaints"? While there is also the question of mistreatment oI illegal migrants, I believe the main point of this article is constitutional protection of those who are quite legal.
2
While border patrol may be an issue along the southern border, crossing from the north can be a crapshoot at times too with folks being detained for no apparent reason. Nexus card holders (U.S. and Canadian citizens) in some U.S. communities such as Point Roberts WA no longer complain because they face retaliation each time they cross regardless of reassurances from the regional director. A lot of the issues could be easily resolved if people weren't so aggressive in their approach to one another.
25
The border and everything within 100 miles is effectively a Constitution free zone. The border patrol operates with impunity.
https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights-governments-100-mile-border-zone-map
https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights-governments-100-mile-border-zone-map
15
If police are acting in a threatening or unprofessional manner, no matter what the circumstance, they should be disciplined or fired.
But this outcry against "racial profiling" has to stop. We are patrolling the Mexican border, for goodness sake. What are we supposed to look for? Russian spies complete with fur hats?
But this outcry against "racial profiling" has to stop. We are patrolling the Mexican border, for goodness sake. What are we supposed to look for? Russian spies complete with fur hats?
38
Racial profiling is bad enough (though in fact your argument could also be used to ask "who do you expect to see crossing the Mexican border in high percentages"), but please do not ignore the question of what is done to people _after_ they are stopped. People are saying both in the article and the comments that agents _do_ act "in a threatening or unprofessional manner" - on the Canadian border as well - and have over many years and administrations. So what's to be done about it?
3
The outcry is not against racial profiling. The outcry is against the police state that was established WITHIN the borders of the USA. You drive on a highway in Arizona, you are liable to be stopped by the CBP and asked for PAPERS. "Papers, please!" Even the passengers in your vehicle will be asked, "PAPERS, PLEASE!" with a gun pointed at them.
This is supposed to happen in USSR, not USA.
This is supposed to happen in USSR, not USA.
2
The law demands that there be a reason for stopping a person other than skin color. If a police officer or Border Patrol agent (not even police officers) does not wish to obey the law, s/he always has the option of resigning. And going to the location reserved for those who do not obey the law -- prison.
Many moons ago I lived in Bisbee, AZ. The border control was out of control back then, a sort of wild west mentality. The vetting process for these agents and other positions is non-existent. They'd practically take whoever showed up and applied. A lot are wannabe cops and soldiers- some very dangerous individuals.
I left the area after one too many random encounters with border patrol when out hiking, star gazing or even dog walking in my neighborhood.
The road blocks/stops are also a serious infringement on traveling in the region. Makes one paranoid even when you're not doing anything wrong.
Too much of a police state and at times a bit scary. No thanks.
I left the area after one too many random encounters with border patrol when out hiking, star gazing or even dog walking in my neighborhood.
The road blocks/stops are also a serious infringement on traveling in the region. Makes one paranoid even when you're not doing anything wrong.
Too much of a police state and at times a bit scary. No thanks.
126
Great! Maybe the illegals will get the message and quit coming!
1
The Border Patrol now gives polygraph examinations to new applicants. That's a step in the right direction but they don't have psychological evaluations of any kind because it is too expensive. Penny wise and pound foolish.
Another example of out of control police agencies. When will we stop putting misfits into uniforms and giving them guns?
60
It is shocking that these things continue to be allowed inside the United States. The Border Patrol consistently violated the Bill of Rights with impunity.
53
Racial profiling on the border with Mexico? Are you kidding me?
21
DRG in New Hampshire has doubtless never lived in the southern border states. Few CITIZENS here have any acrimony toward LEGAL immigrants; however, it is difficult to distinguish between those here legally and those who are not. Speaking English would be a great help to the border patrol agents, and would show the rest of us that they truly want to become Americans, instead of simply bringing their countries to ours. In any case, anyone entering our country needs to do so LEGALLY.
27
Yes but perhaps you're missing the point that you can be a patriotic American while still speaking with a foreign accent or "looking Mexican".
The point is, far too many brown skinned citizens and legal residents are not only being stopped, they're being abused, intimidated and violated without clear cause. Our history is filled with instances where we've been presented the false dichotomy of safety vs. civil rights.
We've gone nearly 2.5 centuries in this country respecting due process for all. No need to stop now.
The point is, far too many brown skinned citizens and legal residents are not only being stopped, they're being abused, intimidated and violated without clear cause. Our history is filled with instances where we've been presented the false dichotomy of safety vs. civil rights.
We've gone nearly 2.5 centuries in this country respecting due process for all. No need to stop now.
3
@odysseus:
That point is not lost on me. I am most definitely not missing it. Since people traveling to and from the border are typically of Hispanic origin, legal or not, it's natural that people who are "brown skinned" would, and will be stopped.
Further, the border states in question are fighting to keep from being continually overwhelmed with illegal aliens. Due process is just that: If you are here illegally, part of due process is identifying you and returning you to your country of origin.
That point is not lost on me. I am most definitely not missing it. Since people traveling to and from the border are typically of Hispanic origin, legal or not, it's natural that people who are "brown skinned" would, and will be stopped.
Further, the border states in question are fighting to keep from being continually overwhelmed with illegal aliens. Due process is just that: If you are here illegally, part of due process is identifying you and returning you to your country of origin.
5
Yes, of course, everyone should be able to learn English instantaneously the minute they enter this country legally. Maybe it can be learned through some kind of Vulcan mind meld. Of course, conversely, any American in another country should be able to speak the language of that country to avoid suspicion of being there illegally.
2
Isn't this what we should expect when the number of border patrol agents on the Mexican border has doubled between 2004 and 2013? Who is INS recruiting? What are their attitudes toward immigrants before going to work for the Border Patrol? How much training do they receive? How much overshight?
In the current atmosphere surrounding immigration policies, it's not hard to imagine than many of the newcomers harbor prejudices against Hispanics.
http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/assets_c/2013/01/DH...
In the current atmosphere surrounding immigration policies, it's not hard to imagine than many of the newcomers harbor prejudices against Hispanics.
http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/assets_c/2013/01/DH...
7
Something tells me that it's never hard for you to imagine that others have prejudices.
4
Many of the 'newcomers' are Hispanic. Try to do a little research before talking!
3
Great story! Thank you NYT and ACLU for investigating this important issue. What is new to me, and especially worrying, is lack of transparency at the very top...the Border Control is the largest police force in the country and has no oversight except for the Homeland Security Department. If corruption extends to the federal department responsible for oversight of this wealthy and powerful police force, then we have a security risk of a very high order. Power corrupts...
138
Great comment! That's exactly where I was going.
You don't just accidentally forget to put oversight and enforcement on huge amounts of cash going to the border. Even Obama was surprised when he tried to do something.
Follow the money.
You don't just accidentally forget to put oversight and enforcement on huge amounts of cash going to the border. Even Obama was surprised when he tried to do something.
Follow the money.
8
homeland is run like the VA!
1
While the stories of racial profiling and agents ripping apart cars in an ill-fated search for contraband are worthwhile issues and cause for concern, let's step back a second: I find it incredible and audacious that in a country that purports to be "the land of the free", we have checkpoints operating in locations interior to the border. No person traveling within the United States should be subjected to such stops. I am reminded of films in which sinister-accented guards in the service of totalitarian regimes demand, "may I see your papers please?". And I really don't care if Border Patrol PR hacks release photos from time to time of piles of drugs seized at such checkpoints.
129
Andrew, the problem is that people coming here ILLEGALLY are getting past Border Patrol. They come typically at night when they are more difficult to detect, and often smuggled in by creeps who take their money, and don't care what happens to them. In Arizona, illegal immigration is the Number One priority, and I am quite happy to show ID and allow my vehicle to be searched. I am about as Caucasian as they come, and I AM STOPPED. If you are not here illegally, you shouldn't mind being stopped. Arizona has been overrun with illegal aliens and the state's crime rates are abominable. Phoenix became the kidnapping capital in the U.S. Every day there are multiple murders and drug busts. It has become a very scary place to live. I don't know where you live, but I'll bet it isn't here.
25
Yep, I hate this surveillance. I used to drive a beat up white van. Once on a drive between Tucson and Phoenix on I-10, a vehicle came up suddenly from behind scaring the bejeezus out of me and making me wonder if I should take evasive action. It was BP, checking me out to see if I was carrying a bunch of people. I could have wrecked because of their aggressive actions.
Another time, just north of the border, I thought twice before making a quick U-turn after missing my turn. BP and a group of detained migrants were just ahead of me and I was sure I'd be pursued if I made a wrong move.
As a citizen, I can't say you have nothing to worry about from Border Patrol. You do. One wrong move -- and good luck knowing what that is -- and you could get shot or run off the road or who knows what.
Another time, just north of the border, I thought twice before making a quick U-turn after missing my turn. BP and a group of detained migrants were just ahead of me and I was sure I'd be pursued if I made a wrong move.
As a citizen, I can't say you have nothing to worry about from Border Patrol. You do. One wrong move -- and good luck knowing what that is -- and you could get shot or run off the road or who knows what.
5
You are correct Christine and I saw that while in Arizona recently. Sad part is the ACLU and the ethnocentric Hispanic groups don't care about what illegals have done to that once great state.
4
Border agents wield enormous power. Even in cases where a person has a valid visa and identification, they can refuse the person entry based on their hunch. My childhood friend who comes from a poor family came to US to study medicine was returned back home on the next available flight. We were all shocked why it happened as all documents, visa and identifications were in order.
14
@Times: "... the A.C.L.U. sued the department for access."
What was the legal basis for this lawsuit? What court heard the case?
What was the legal basis for this lawsuit? What court heard the case?
6
I'm guessing it was a Freedom of Information Act-related request.
7
FOIA
11
Funny how not even once in the article the number of border patrol officer injuries and fatalities reported. It's a job not one of you keyboard tough guys would do for any amount of $$.
23
Since 1919, 121 CBP agents have died in the line of duty:
Aircraft accident: 14
Assault: 2
Automobile accident: 32
Drowned: 4
Duty related illness: 3
Fall: 4
Gunfire: 31
Gunfire (Accidental): 4
Heart attack: 6
Heat exhaustion: 2
Motorcycle accident: 2
Stabbed: 2
Struck by train: 5
Struck by vehicle: 4
Vehicle pursuit: 2
Vehicular assault: 4
Aircraft accident: 14
Assault: 2
Automobile accident: 32
Drowned: 4
Duty related illness: 3
Fall: 4
Gunfire: 31
Gunfire (Accidental): 4
Heart attack: 6
Heat exhaustion: 2
Motorcycle accident: 2
Stabbed: 2
Struck by train: 5
Struck by vehicle: 4
Vehicle pursuit: 2
Vehicular assault: 4
21
Two customers and border patrol officers died in the line of duty in 2014, in separate automobile accidents. That has nothing to do with the incompetence and abusiveness chronicled in this article.
29
Paul E.: The best and quickest way to eliminate these injuries and fatalities to the border agents is to eliminate the border patrol. These border agents are not making America safer as your own statistics show.
7
So abusive as well as incompetent and ineffective.
“I am taking steps to make transparency and accountability hallmarks of my tenure at C.B.P.,” Mr. Kerlikowske said in April during a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “The public’s trust in us depends on it.”
Seriously 'public trust'? Long gone when it comes to immigration and border control.
“I am taking steps to make transparency and accountability hallmarks of my tenure at C.B.P.,” Mr. Kerlikowske said in April during a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “The public’s trust in us depends on it.”
Seriously 'public trust'? Long gone when it comes to immigration and border control.
20
Heck of a job Brownie.
10
You have your federal agencies confused. Michael D. Brown was the director of FEMA, not CBP.
A Punch Line Who Refuses to Fade Away
By MARK LEIBOVICH
Published: August 26, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/26/washington/26brown.html?pagewanted=all
A Punch Line Who Refuses to Fade Away
By MARK LEIBOVICH
Published: August 26, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/26/washington/26brown.html?pagewanted=all
3
I believe it was a joke ... as in the Border Patrol is as effective, efficient, capable on the borders as Brownie was in New Orleans
2
Thank you.
In fact I am aware that FEMA and CBP are separate agencies.
And I am aware of the Leibovich article.
In fact I am aware that FEMA and CBP are separate agencies.
And I am aware of the Leibovich article.
2
Ugly Americans abroad. Ugly Americans at home.
Guns. Violence. Thuggery.
How did it come to this?
Guns. Violence. Thuggery.
How did it come to this?
92
It's the natural result of the belief in our exceptionalism.
5
Rush Limbaugh, for starters. Bad economy, etc. etc.
3
Student---you must be young and/or naive. Americans have always been this way. We just covered it up with a lot of apple pie and flag waving until the 1960's. That generation thought they could change things. It hasn't changed much. I lived on the border for nearly 20 yrs and visit frequently. USBP doesn't care what your race or ethnicity is, they will tear your car up if they feel like it, because they can. When I go to visit the graves of my parents and grandparents, I have to go through one of these checkpoints, over 50 miles from the border. I'm always asked if I'm a citizen, where I'm coming from and where I'm going. It's like living in another country. I'm blue eyed, of Scotch and German descent, so it isn't racial profiling. It is highly illegal as far as I'm concerned.
No mention about how many border agents have been killed by gunfire in the line of duty?
11
If you're interested, you might be able to find that information here:
http://www.cbp.gov/about/in-memoriam/memoriam-those-who-died-line-duty
I've only checked back through 2010, but for those years there appear to be two agents who were been killed by gunfire in the line of duty. For perspective, note that in each of those years there were at least 20,000 agents employed by the USCBP: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/BP%20Staffing%20FY1992...
http://www.cbp.gov/about/in-memoriam/memoriam-those-who-died-line-duty
I've only checked back through 2010, but for those years there appear to be two agents who were been killed by gunfire in the line of duty. For perspective, note that in each of those years there were at least 20,000 agents employed by the USCBP: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/BP%20Staffing%20FY1992...
11
35 in the last century if "mford" is correct.
The usual Times spin on a hopeless situation. Perhaps an article on the pending Kate's law would be more appropriate. As for the tired old 'racial profiling', well the old saying 'if it quacks like a duck, smells like a duck, and looks like a duck' applies. Can't wait for Trump's wall.
20
That wall will look "beautiful".....from New Jersey.
4
You probably applaud the actions of the rogue border agents, but Trump's wall will put them out of business.
I worked with many American Hispanics that would take off and drive to visit family in Mexico. Here, one can drive down for a weekend. Some of the stories they told me were just terrible and similar to what is stated in this article. It's a police state mentality that can really get ugly....
54
I witnessed a guy getting his car torn apart at the Yuma checkpoint. He said it had happened many times. He has family in Mexico and every time he returns to AZ they rip his car apart. They found nothing.
As a resident of southern AZ, it's very frustrating to listen to people who've never been here spout off about the militarization of the border. Over the past 20+ years the effort to "secure the border" has killed many people - and not with bullets.
As a resident of southern AZ, it's very frustrating to listen to people who've never been here spout off about the militarization of the border. Over the past 20+ years the effort to "secure the border" has killed many people - and not with bullets.
5
This is how well our current system is working.
https://healthmap.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/deathmap.jpg
https://healthmap.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/deathmap.jpg
1
Good for them, it's a tough job.
12
I have noticed under Obama members of all levels of the Federal Government are committing crimes and getting away with it and are even protected from the law.
The rampant Federal Government criminality under Obama is just shocking and says everything about Obama.
The rampant Federal Government criminality under Obama is just shocking and says everything about Obama.
9
I find it odd at how vigilantism is rampant in this country. Rogue law enforcement taking the law as they feel it to be in their own hands. Not treating the due process as part of our rights of citizens no matter where our families immigrated from. A Senator from Arizona demanding a guilty verdict before an Army Sargent goes to trial. Parents thinking they can kill their children in upstate New York. " Can't wait till Trump builds the wall" some say. What about the 40% who fly into the U.S. ? What about the Canadian border? The stupidity of some that government is not the people but some alien entity created to persecute us. We created it! It is what we wanted it to be. After 234 years of our Constitution it is amazing how many people have not read it. I am tired of people making excuses for law enforcement abuses. They encourage the cycle of abuses,creating a uncivil environment for all those honest ,hardworking ,non-abusive law enforcement who are in the majority. Encouraging rogue law enforcement only discourages all aspects of a fair Justice system.
20
"Secure the border first" is not exactly an Obama mantra. Please elaborate the changes in CBP culture, from those accurately described in this article, that you'd expect to see under a President Trump.
8
A lot of people demand a guilty verdict prior to a trial or even an investigation, including the President and The Reverand Al! Often they have been wrong!
1
I think one statistic alone will be telling: what percentage of people subject to inspection have brown skin and black hair?
Like most things in this country, we have a short fuse when it comes to violation of civil rights when the victim has white skin and an American accent.
I am curious to see how far Homeland Security would get by pulling over and inspecting vehicles in such a manner in Orange County, CA or the Hamptons.
Like most things in this country, we have a short fuse when it comes to violation of civil rights when the victim has white skin and an American accent.
I am curious to see how far Homeland Security would get by pulling over and inspecting vehicles in such a manner in Orange County, CA or the Hamptons.
69
What percentage of Blonds try to cross out Southern border illegally?
There are several highway check points in the southern part of California in addition to the several legal border crossings. All traffic both driven and on foot is stopped at the legal crossing points. All those crossing must present valued documents even "Blonds". All trucks and autos are visually checked at the highway check points. I have never seen a Federal Employee draw a weapon in 30 years of crossing.
In Mexico they do the same thing except for the most part they only stop and inspect the vehicles of those who seem to be, or look like Mexician Nationals.
Anyone crossing anywhere except a legal crossing point is a criminal and should be treated as such!
There are several highway check points in the southern part of California in addition to the several legal border crossings. All traffic both driven and on foot is stopped at the legal crossing points. All those crossing must present valued documents even "Blonds". All trucks and autos are visually checked at the highway check points. I have never seen a Federal Employee draw a weapon in 30 years of crossing.
In Mexico they do the same thing except for the most part they only stop and inspect the vehicles of those who seem to be, or look like Mexician Nationals.
Anyone crossing anywhere except a legal crossing point is a criminal and should be treated as such!
8
You don't fly often, do you?
2
odysseus - "...what percentage of people subject to inspection have brown skin and black hair?"
On the Southern border that's probably 99% or higher but then again quite a few of the BP agents also have brown skin and black hair so what's really your point?
On the Southern border that's probably 99% or higher but then again quite a few of the BP agents also have brown skin and black hair so what's really your point?
3
The fact that border patrol officers work independently in the field, largely without direct monitoring or on-site supervision, combined with the fact that the people they deal with have few legal rights and little practical recourse, is a recipe for abuse.
Or, to say it more concisely, power corrupts.
politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com
Or, to say it more concisely, power corrupts.
politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com
33
Disgusting. Thank you, ACLU, for the tireless work that you do to reign in government abuse. The picture that emerges from this is that our fellow citizens in the Southwest are living in an unregulated police state.
106
Its not so far away as you might think; the BP carries out the same practices anywhere within 100 miles of the northern border as well, and they are very active in Upstate NY. The police state is not as noticeable, for white people, as it is in the Southwest, but it is here.
Border Patrol checkpoints have been directed by the U.S. Supreme Court to be away from the border, the functional usage is defined to catch foreigners at the limits of their restrictions on the border. Canadians are allowed to be present with no visa, so this incident cannot be justified as being focused on finding them unauthorized a mile from Canada. When the woman complained (she had already proven her U.S. citizenship by her driver's license the agent kept in his possession) after 20 minutes (her dog was in the parked car), they tased her and took her into custody for several hours. She wasn't charged, no drugs were found in the car, and she has now filed suit.