Southern Arizona Homeland Security Checkpoint

[Checkpoint]

The Department of Homeland Security & Border Patrol setup a checkpoint in the early part of January 2008 along SR86 in Southern Arizona. The location is over 40 miles North of the border along a regularly traveled state highway that runs mostly parallel to the border and never intersects it at any point. As of the first part of February, the checkpoint was still active and being used to interrogate travelers regarding their citizenship and to sniff for drugs via on-scene K9 units.

I've been seized at the checkpoint on five separate occasions over the past three weeks while traveling home from work. I've documented and videotaped each stop.

The videos are available on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/CheckpointUSA

While full writeups, photos, and video are available on my blog at;

http://checkpointusa.org/blog

The first three stops took place during the day. The fourth stop was at night and the agents ran a drug dog around every vehicle entering the checkpoint.

The most recent stop took place Friday last week. Homeland Security knew I was coming and had a large United States flag flying in the background and at least twelve agents present to greet me (there's normally four).

The agents banged on the side of my vehicle as I entered, yelled out my name during the stop, surrounded my vehicle, and sent a blue gloved 'investigator' around the vehicle to take photos before I was allowed to proceed. The high resolution photos I took show several high ranking Border Patrol officials smiling in the background while the agents were harassing me at the actual checkpoint stop.

The comments and discussion left on YouTube is also very interesting. One commentor, quoting from a DOJ Immigration manual used by the Border Patrol, has indicated that everyone entering one of these checkpoints is presumed to be a suspect until that individual affirmatively proves they are in the country legally. If the individual fails to prove their legal status to the satisfaction of the stopping agent, that individual can be detained indefinitely by the Border Patrol until status is determined.

Remember, these checkpoints can be setup anywhere within 100 miles of an international border. As such, it's now clear the Border Patrol is operating under the premise that anyone traveling within 100 miles of a border can be stopped (at these checkpoints) and detained absent any reasonable suspicion for as long as Homeland Security deems necessary or desirable.

It would seem that arbitrary seizure and indefinite detention is now a normal part of daily Homeland Security operations throughout at least 10% of the country. 

[kola]

Great work.

But I am surprised they did not arrest your for "refusing to answer a reasonable request from an officer."

Kola

[penguins4me]

Thank you for standing up to their thuggish behaviour and openly recording it to show it first-hand as such to us. "It can't happen here"? It *is* happening here. Papieren bitte!

[J’raxis 270145]

Thank you for standing up to their thuggish behaviour and openly recording it to show it first-hand as such to us. "It can't happen here"? It *is* happening here. Papieren bitte!

Indeed it can happen right here. Checkpoint in Vermont.

[kola]

not to mention the "brown checkpoint".

[Kat Kanning]

THIS is why the media has been hyping people up on the illegal immigrant issue - the government wants to be able to have checkpoints and demand people's papers at will.

[Caleb]

I think it would be useful to start learning German. Responses sound so much more "Big Brotherish" when the answers are given in German.  Right now, I am determined to speak only Spanish to them if pulled over, but nothing says "fascism" like German.

Is there any requirement that you answer in English?

[Checkpoint]

But I am surprised they did not arrest your for "refusing to answer a reasonable request from an officer."

In Arizona, federal agents must be cross-certified with the county sheriff in order to enforce State law and no Border Patrol agents are currently cross-certified in Pima County. As such, these agents could be in violation of State law merely for directing traffic at this checkpoint since directing traffic is a State function - not a federal one.

The main point to consider however is that these are investigatory stops regarding the trafficking of illegal aliens and narcotics being conducted absent reasonable suspicion. If individuals were actually required to answer these questions, the 5th amendment implications would be significant. While the Supreme Court has created a 4th amendment loophole regarding brief stops at permanent checkpoints within 100 miles of a border for the sole purpose of making brief citizenship inquiries, there's no ruling I know of that actually creates a legal obligation for anyone to answer these questions.

[les nessman]

    It looks like you've done an excellent job in documenting the
situation.  Now all you need is a website with a collage of
agent photos labeled "Constitutional Hall of Shame".

[Russell Kanning]

I think it would be useful to start learning German. Responses sound so much more "Big Brotherish" when the answers are given in German.  Right now, I am determined to speak only Spanish to them if pulled over, but nothing says "fascism" like German.

even german accents seems to do the trick

[Checkpoint]

Looks like I'm not the only one getting pissed off at the number of checkpoints popping
up around the Southwest.

Some college students, one who happens to be a former Marine, were stopped twice within a
thirty minute period a few days ago - once at the border and then again at an internal suspicionless
checkpoint well away from the border.

The  former Marine decided to ask a few questions at the second checkpoint and gets a whole lot
of attitude from the Homeland Security goons along with a trip to secondary inspection.

The YouTube video is available here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msFEj-UBU9Q

[kola]

It appears the cops got the better of them.

So what happened?

Kola

[KBCraig]

The comments on that video make me want to hurl. 

[Notanumber]

The comments on that video make me want to hurl. 

Which ones?

[KBCraig]

The comments on that video make me want to hurl. 

Which ones?

Just about all of them except for Waggoneer (who posted the video), and a couple of other commenters. 90% of the rest are shouting how un-American he is for "disrespecting" the Border Patrol.

It was really silly: a car load of obvious American college students returning from Spring Break. The BPAs standing around leaning on pickup trucks only wanted one thing: to compliantly reply "yes" when asked if they were American citizens. (As a side note, a Mexican, Canadian, or anyone else from North or South American could honestly answer "yes" to that question.)

After a protracted conversation, which should have only confirmed that Waggoneer was an American (or at least allayed any concern that he wasn't), it was simply a power play by the BPAs, to have the travellers respect their au-thor-i-tay.

Their authority, BTW, does not include demanding driver's licenses or registrations; that was an over-the-top intimidation attempt.