“And you don’t have to take our word for it”, said ACLU attorney James Lyall. People who drive through a checkpoint are asked to reveal whether they are USA citizens. Other records show Border Patrol monitoring Tohono O’odham community meetings and Know Your Rights events.
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A Border Patrol agent in Green Valley, Ariz., followed a store employee into a parking lot, approached the individual with a service revolver drawn, ordered him to his knees, and handcuffed him.
What’s worse, Lyall said, is all that is not effective at catching those who enter the country illegally.
The agency has been secretive about how many arrests and seizures are made at its 11 checkpoints within the Tucson Sector.
“At others, nothing is happening”, he said.
The ACLU of Arizona’s findings, which focused on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s enforcement operations inside the states, were published in a report that arose out of a lawsuit filed against the Department of Homeland Security. But Lyall said that same checkpoint produced “multiple civil rights complaints during the same period”.
But what the ACLU found could eventually wind up in court. He said he’s been involved with numerous internal investigations. “The potential for further litigation is absolutely real”.
“It appeared that the reason that particular person was disciplined was that the person pulled over was the son of another Border Patrol employee”, said Lopez. He added he works for the Border Patrol. Problem is, “These abuse records substantially outnumber the annual complaint totals DHS oversight agencies disclosed to Congress”, the ACLU of Arizona press release says. But according to a report released Thursday by the ACLU, many either went ignored or glossed over, allowing agents to act with a sense of impunity. It is in any case not at all clear what kind of evidence would be required to show that a dog’s purported alert should not count as probable cause, especially since the government routinely argues that anything resembling a false alarm is a reaction to otherwise undetectable traces of drugs. While no illegal drugs were found, he later realized Border Patrol agents had confiscated much of his prescription medication.
The report is co-authored by two University of Arizona law professors.
She says the stop always made her feel uneasy.
Then there is the ongoing battle between the Border Patrol and residents of the Arivaca area who have been trying to videotape the agents’ activities to prove their claim that motorists are being harassed. He said, though, that what constitutes “interference” has to be decided on a case-by-case basis.
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Border Patrol’s records contain recurring examples of agents terrorizing motorists far into the interior of the country; detaining and searching innocent travelers after false alerts by service canines; threatening motorists with assault rifles and other weapons; destroying personal property; and interfering with attempts to video record agents.
