Handy Guide Tells You What Rights Border Patrol Is Violating When They Pound on You

I’ve written recently about the

ongoing tensions in Arivaca, Arizona, between local residents
and the U.S. Border Patrol agents who run a checkpoint on the road
in and out of town. The locals don’t like being scrutinized and
interrogated every time they go shopping or to school, and the feds
don’t like being challenged. Border Patrol agents also behaved
badly in the case of
Larry Kirschenman, who they roughed up at the Nogales port of
entry. And they misbehaved when they apparently slashed
Clarisa Christiansen‘s tires while rousting her well within the
boundaries of the United States.

Given the wide range of surliness and abuse meted out by these
uniformed guardians of the dotted line on the map and roadbocks
elsewhere, just how are we supposed to know just what rights
they’re violating when they detain us, trash our property, or knock
us around?

Fortunately, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona
publishes a handy
guide to your rights when encountering members of the Border
Patrol. Agents may not respect it, but you can use it as a
checklist for keeping track during your meetings—and possibly for
planning a legal response in the aftermath.

Among the disregarded rights you are likely to encounter at
checkpoints within the U.S.:

Agents should not ask questions unrelated to verifying
citizenship, nor can they hold you for an extended time without
cause.

Simply driving around:

Border Patrol “roving patrols” cannot pull over vehicles to
question occupants about their immigration status unless agents
have a “reasonable suspicion” of an immigration violation or crime.
Reasonable suspicion is more than just a “hunch.

And at border crossings:

• Cannot use excessive force.

• Cannot conduct more intrusive searches such as strip searches
or repeated detentions unless they have “reasonable suspicion” of
an immigration violation or crime.

• Should not damage personal property during an inspection.

The guide is available in both
English and
Spanish so you can follow along with the bouncing baton during
your Border Patrol encounters.