Immigration Status Smelling Dog or Illegal Drug Checkpoint?

While traveling from work solely within the United States more than 40 miles from the border on February 25, 2011, I was stopped, seized and detained at an internal Border Patrol checkpoint located near mile marker 147 on SR86 in Southern Arizona.

During this seizure, the Border Patrol field supervisor detained me long enough to allow a drug sniffing dog to sniff the exterior of my vehicle while failing to make any immigration-related inquiries. The Supreme Court has held that drug checkpoints are illegal while immigration checkpoints such as this are only legal when they are limited in scope to brief immigration queries.

As such, unless this dog in question has been trained to detect who is and who is not inside the country legally, the extended seizure was illegal based upon U.S. Supreme Court guidance in City of Indianapolis V Edmond, U.S. V Martinez-Fuerte, U.S. V Ortiz and U.S. V Brignoni-Ponce.

The dog handler allowed the K9 to come into direct contact with my vehicle and run its nails down along the backside of the vehicle.

Read more at:

https://www.checkpointusa.org/blog/index.php/2011/02/27/immigration_status_sm...

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Drug
• dog
• Border
• Patrol
• roadblock
• checkpoint
• Homeland
• Security

[5Ring]

Dude, are you a Mexican National or just someone of Hispanic descent who has more loyalty to his heritage than to this country? Over the past forty years, the United States have aborted their working class (40 million) and replaced them with Mexicans, other Hispanics and Asian illegals. We now have 16% real unemployment (Psst!, that's about 40 million too) when you include the under-employed and those who are not looking (forget those too lazy to work). We need to do something about illegals.

[CheckpointUSA]

Dude, are you a racist authoritarian punk or just a clueless one 5Ring?

If you want to do something about illegals, I suggest you petition the Border Patrol to stop harassing domestic traffic inside the country and instead do their job patrolling the actual border.

[runningwolfkenpo]

CheckpointUSA; I'm sure they do check for illegals at the border, but what about those who make it across somehow. I believe it is impossible to catch everything at the border. If they did, there would be no drugs, no illegals, ect... Unfortunately since Mexico will not police it's own country, We will have to suffer the little indiscretions of checks. Everyone is suspect until checked. What violates my rights is when drugs and crime come up and affect my life to live with out fear.

[CheckpointUSA]

What makes you think there would be no drugs, no illegal, etc runningwolfkenpo? CBP agents are implicated every day in smuggling operations. Just read the semi-annual reports from the DHS's Inspector General Office.

What about the illegals who make it past? Didn't you know that ICE's Office of Detention & Removal routinely releases illegals ck into local communities while awaiting final deportation orders knowing most will abscond?

[CheckpointUSA]

Regarding your claim that everyone is suspect until checked, you obviously despise the principles this country was founded on runningwolfkenpo. In this country, we are innocent until proven guilty & no one has to prove their innocence on demand.

You also have no right to live without fear. Crime always has been and always will be part of society. Learn to deal with it & stop trying to turn this country into an authoritarian nirvana in order to allay your current fears.

[runningwolfkenpo]

People say, "Just close the border". The only problem with that is security would really go up and no matter where you were around that border, They would be checking you like a proctologist. People complain about the illegals, unfortunately, there will be a little discomfort until everything is ironed out. I believe if you don't like it, then follow the right channels and get it changed instead of crying about everything.

[CheckpointUSA]

Your comment makes little sense runningwolfkenpo. Agents pretty much have unfettered discretion to search & seize at the border which is where they should be looking for illegal entries anyway since that's where the violation is actually occurring.

You also seem to be rather ignorant about individual rights given your characterization of my actions. The 'right channel' to use when exercising your rights is in front of the individual attempting to violate them.

[CheckpointUSA]

Sounds like you need to understand your research before making ridiculous claims MrDeputysmith. The only SCOTUS cases upholding exterior drug dog sniffs are those where officers had probable cause to initiate a traffic stop. Suspicionless checkpoints are completely different legal entities & must be limited in scope and the initial detention must be very short in the absence of consent or pc.

In this case the agents ignored the immigration mandate to detain to look for drugs. Quite illegal!

[CheckpointUSA]

What's a shame is ignorant authoritarians such as yourself cruzerwwight who display nothing but contempt for individual rights & ignorance of the principles this country was founded on. In this country, individuals have no obligation to prove their innocence on demand to Border Patrol agent who can't find the border they're paid to patrol.

BTW, smugglers having been beating the system since there was a system to beat. Just ask all the BP agents who get paid to look the other way.

[pabbananna]

of course they want to find drugs. imagine how much more exciting that is opposed to capturing *another* "illegal" immigrant. I wonder if they get to keep the siezed money too - like the local law enforcement do?

[DanielMartinezful]

lol "your holding off traffic"

[1775novten]

@stevenlee49 It's *you're* btw.