Death of patient at NH secure psychiatric unit being investigated, Two UNH studies to explore nutrition and food insecurity in Latino communities, Manchester installs monitors to track air quality disparities. A judge ruled Friday that police dogs used to sniff out drugs at a border patrol checkpoint on Interstate 93 last summer amounted to a violation of the state Constitution. Agents can obtain probable cause for a search if a drug-sniffing dog legitimately alerts to the presence of drugs. 4 NCIC (National Crime Information Center) arrests refers to the number of CBP arrests of individuals, including U.S. citizens, who are wanted by other law enforcement agencies. In remote Hudspeth County, Texas, where the Big Bend Sector's Sierra Blanca checkpoint sits, Sheriff Arvin West said the Border Patrol has enhanced security by increasing agents and drug-detecting dogs at checkpoints to catch more contraband. Our six-week newsletter will help you make the right decision for you and your property. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. It is illegal for law enforcement officers to perform any stops, searches, detentions, or deportations based on your race,national origin, religion, sex, or ethnicity. The evidence was seized in violation of constitutional rights recognized by the New Hampshire Supreme Court.. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkWoodstock-cm-050518,ph1'); 9 0 obj <> endobj Under the direction of the Office of Training and Development (OTD), the CBP Canine Program offers certified training based upon numerous federal and internationally recognized standards. "Granted, they lose their load, but they're able to make it up the next day or the day after and find a different route. A lock ( Thousands of desperate migrants have died trying to cross the militarized U.S. border, but U.S. administrations refuse to change border strategies that drive these deaths. With that decision, the Supreme Court added to decades of precedents that have allowed the Border Patrol to barely abide by the Constitution, especially its 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. In 2018, a New Hampshire circuit court judge ruled that the evidence obtained through the use of drug sniffing dogs violated the New Hampshire Constitution because the search was performed without a warrant or reasonable suspicion. For example, documentation for new staff did not include details on tasks or the past activities of the office. DUI Checkpoints But if that person gets caught with the same size load at the federal checkpoint, he walks unless there are aggravating circumstances, such as a weapon involved. Fiscal Year 2022 Quarter 1 Agriculture Inspections Contaminated Products, Fiscal Year 2021 Quarter 4 Agriculture Inspections Contaminated Products, Fiscal Year 2021 Quarter 3 Agriculture Inspections Contaminated Products, Fiscal Year 2021 Quarter 2 Agriculture Inspections Contaminated Products, Fiscal Year 2021 Quarter 1 Agriculture Inspections Contaminated Products. I've had several questions about the role of drug dogs at motor vehicle checkpoints. Civil liberties groups in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont are suing U.S. Customs and Border Patrol over the use of checkpoints far from international borders, alleging the stops amount to unconstitutional searches that violate the Fourth Amendment. I was stunned. My wife and I had a shit load of stuff in our SUV. Three ACLU chapters filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday on behalf of Jesse Drewniak, a New Hampshire man cited for a minor drug offense after being stopped at a checkpoint in Woodstock, NH on Interstate 93 approximately 90 miles from the Canadian border. And they use racial profiling to boot. A U.S. Border Patrol agent checks a car on the Interstate 93 southbound lane on Sept. 28, south of Lincoln. 2 0 obj The agents wide jurisdiction was unpopular with border residents and in Congress. Rappa agreed with the latter concept but ultimately disagreed with the states argument. According to Border Patrol data, from fiscal years 2016 through 2020, Border Patrol apprehended about 35,700 potentially removable people . Today is Public Media Giving Days. Permanent checkpoints are characterized by permanent infrastructure, while tactical checkpoints lack permanent structures and are located on "secondary" roads. GAO found that while Border Patrol data on apprehensions and drug seizures were generally reliable, certain other checkpoint activity data, including on apprehensions of smuggled people and canine assists with drug seizures, were unreliable. "The K-9 was searching vehicles four to five back from the front of the line, but when it got to me the dog and agent stayed with my vehicle and upon . This contentis intended to serve as general information; it is not legal advice nor intended as legal advice. Alex Ray feeds lots of people, both in the Granite State and awar zone thousands of miles away.Hes the founder and owner of a restaurant Why do ants suddenly appear every time Spring is near? At the time, there were so few Border Patrol agents, the agencys seemingly unconstitutional authority went unscrutinized for decades. West blames federal authorities for not prosecuting the marijuana cases themselves. Numbers below reflect Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 - FY 2023. If Border Patrol uses a drug-sniffing dog and falsely claims the dog has alerted to the presence of drugs or contraband in your vehicle, record as much information about the incident as possible and report it. The United States alleges that, on March 24, 2023, Pantoja-Ramirez was stopped while in a vehicle at a Border Patrol checkpoint located between Yuma and Wellton, Arizona. The Sierra Blanca Border Patrol checkpoint was once the bane of pot smokers driving from Los Angeles to Texas. The ACLU has a very helpful guide to your rights when questioned at Border Patrol checkpoints, whether fixed or random. Other than at ports of entry, agentsboarding buses and trains may not search or even pat down luggage without consent or probable cause. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the nations largest federal law enforcement agency charged with securing the nations borders and facilitating international travel and trade. Hometown Hero: Charm Emiko and Project S.T.O.R.Y. Rulings on how this applies to search dogs and cars have varied across the country, Nizetic said, but in New Hampshire, the Supreme Court decided that police do not need to obtain a warrant to enter an automobile when the vehicle has been lawfully stopped while in transit and the police have probable cause to believe that a plainly visible item in the vehicle is contraband, according to the Cora ruling. After federal grants used to help pay for housing offenders arrested on drug charges dried up, Sheriff Arvin West of Hudspeth County, Texas, stopped taking any more cases from the checkpoint. There are four general types of checkpoints you might encounter: DUI checkpoints, U.S. border checkpoints, drug checkpoints, and TSA checkpoints. Brooks has such a tiny budget that it, too, refuses checkpoint cases. Border Patrol may board buses and trains to question individuals about their citizenship. %3Ciframe%20width%3D%22560%22%20height%3D%22315%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FocjNGWBUXqk%3Fautoplay%3D1%26version%3D3%26playsinline%3D1%22%20title%3D%22YouTube%20video%20player%22%20frameborder%3D%220%22%20allow%3D%22accelerometer%3B%20autoplay%3B%20clipboard-write%3B%20encrypted-media%3B%20gyroscope%3B%20picture-in-picture%22%20allowfullscreen%3D%22%22%3E%3C%2Fiframe%3E, Know Your Rights at Interior Border Checkpoints, National Crisis in Policing Awaits United Nations Delegation, Here's How New Mexico is Leading the Way for Voting Rights, Three Years Later, COVID-19 is Still a Threat to People Who Are Incarcerated. hide caption. They referred all media inquiries to the sheriff, who was. <>>> Border Patrol cannot go onto private land more than 25 miles inland of the border without a warrant or consent. asks Jaime Esparza, district attorney for El Paso and two neighboring counties. As of early June, the sign says, U.S . The TSDS originated as the consolidated terrorist watchlist to house information on known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) but has evolved over the last decade to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals. A Border Patrol agent approached a Turkish guest at an inn in Washington state. U.S. Border Patrol recently discovered over 20,000 fentanyl pills inside an abandoned backpack in Arizona, meaning it was being smuggled between the port of entry, something Democrats say almost . Explore Office of Field Operations (OFO) and U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Currency & Other Monetary Instrument Seizures by Fiscal Year. Explore Office of Field Operations (OFO) and U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Weapons and Ammunition Seizures dashboards by Fiscal Year. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information. Opinion: Why my Taiwanese American identity has become more complicated, Commentary: Opponents need to stop equating abortion with eugenics, Editorial: Polluters keep trying to block gas bans. You do not have to provide information about where you were born, how you entered the U.S or how long you have been here. Federal agents at the Sierra Blanca Border Patrol checkpoint in West Texas used to make 20 to 30 busts per day for marijuana possession. If you are not free to go, you are under arrest and have the right to remain silent. Refusing a search does not give agents probable cause for a search. Green-suited federal agents and their uncanny drug dogs would make 20 to 30 busts a day. Subscribe Today, For Alex Ray, altruisim is a common theme, The Outside Story: The carpenters arrive in spring, Calle Walton to be grand marshal of Future in Sights fundraising walk. The Border Patrol does not release numbers on individuals who have their narcotics confiscated and are not arrested. WASHINGTON A state court in New Hampshire has ruled that the arrests of several people last summer who were charged with drug possession at an immigration checkpoint set up by the United. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference. In 1946, the Border Patrols authorization was revised: It could operate inside the United States, but only within a reasonable distance from any external boundary.. See, for example, 8 U.S.C. //var LBtag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkLBWoodstock-cm-050518,ph1'); (4) O PERATIONAL CONTROL.The term "operational control" has the meaning given such term in section 2(b . The van was stopped at a U.S. Border Patrol highway checkpoint about 20 miles from the international border, and the entire load, worth $15,000 in wholesale value, was seized by federal. (Recommendation 4), The Chief of Border Patrol should ensure that CPMO is consistently and adequately staffed. This story is free, but journalism is expensive. The state argued there was no state action because Woodstock police didnt conduct the searches and that border patrol agents did not require probable cause to conduct searches. If you are stopped, detained, or harassed by Border Patrol, try to get the agent(s) name, number, and any other identifyinginformation. The sheriff says there were so many checkpoint cases they occupied two of his full-time deputies and a fourth of the space in his county jail. If you are stopped, detained, or harassed by Border Patrol, try to get the agent(s) name, number, and any other identifying information. A lot of drugs pass through the Border Patrol inspection station in Brooks County, where La Grulla is located; it, too, is refusing to take checkpoint cases. At the 113 interior Border Patrol checkpoints, what an agent sees in your back seat may get you pulled over for further investigation that could well end in a search most people consent when asked; they dont know they can refuse or that agents need probable cause to open their trunk otherwise. DHS works tirelessly to secure our borders through a combination of highly trained personnel, ground and aerial monitoring systems, and robust intelligence and information sharing networks. "The federal government is playing with people's lives with selective prosecution.". At the nations more than 300 ports of entry, CBP officers have a complex mission with broad law enforcement authorities tied to screening all foreign visitors, returning American citizens and imported cargo that enters the U.S. That 100-mile zone includes the entire state of New Hampshire, as well as Maine, Vermont and several other states. Legislation has been introduced in the House to cut back the border zone to 25 miles from external boundaries. LockA locked padlock However, as with all U.S. law enforcement agencies, there are many important legal limitations on what CBP can do. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. If you are not free to go, you are under arrest and have the right to remain silent. United States Border Patrol agents conducted an inspection that revealed a total of 16 packages hidden within the vehicle's tailgate and spare tire. endobj The puppies' final evaluation takes place between 7 and 14 months of age when they enter into one of the formal detection canine courses. I'm not gonna do the federal government's job. CBP agents frequently conduct life-saving efforts, while carrying out their respective missions. Random Drug Test. "When I occupy one of those beds it takes away from a paying customer back there," the sheriff says. % (Recommendation 1), The Chief of Border Patrol should ensure that Border Patrol uses its data system to document information about all people for whom a checkpoint encounter leads to a subsequent enforcement action. The CBP agriculture detector dog teams are trained at the USDA's National Detector Dog Training Center in Atlanta, Georgia and is a separate training program from the CBP Canine Program. Border Patrol should not cause physical damage to private property. Courts have upheld the constitutionality of inland checkpoints as long as they can be proven effective at detaining people who have crossed the border illegally, and dont unduly burden citizens. To meet a standard of reasonable suspicion, the court required two factors, and one could be race. When the inns owner, an American citizen, asked the agent to leave, the agent shoved him against a car and then threw him on the ground. Chris Cabrera, a Border Patrol union representative in the Rio Grande Valley, says traffickers caught with dozens of pounds of pot are routinely released, and they learn to exploit this loophole. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS "U@Gil"e@j@t @3 q n"Hj+Xd&Kt? 6).D=4@$`?H] RS Reno was the first WHP K9 officer to be trained to detect fentanyl in July 2022. The stated primary purpose of these inspection stations is to deter illegal immigration and smuggling activities. Our top priority is to keep terrorists and their weapons from entering the United States. CBP maintains a breeding program to supplement the number of suitable dogs entering detection training for the CBP mission. "The Border Patrol guys never would have found it if the dogs hadn't sniffed it out. In the border zone that extends 100 miles into the U.S., agents can set up checkpoints and stop every passing car. It never has been.". hb```b``e`c`z ",@aK(c;?ttt0 1X 8@1C ?*8] dyp0>pi,T7h,=mBg?1cKvYjpPL|62\(NX{ When the inn's owner, an American citizen, asked the agent to leave, the agent shoved him against a car and then . Explore the Office of Trade's Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Seizures dashboard by Fiscal Year. Your responses may be used to detain and deport you. If you are approached on the street or in a public place, you do not have to answer agents questions or provide identification. It is illegal for law enforcement officers to perform any stops, searches, detentions, or deportations based on your race, national origin, religion, sex, or ethnicity. "When this started pretty much in the country, Wyoming Highway Patrol was the only agency with a dog that was . If Border Patrol uses a drug-sniffing dog and falsely claims the dog has alerted to the presence of drugs or contraband in your vehicle, record as much information about the incident as possible and report it. California cities shouldnt be deterred. An official website of the United States government. var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); See Air and Marine Operations Statisticsfor a breakdown of enforcement actions with non-CBP agencies. During that same period of time, CBP conducted 32,038 border searches of electronic devices, representing less than .014 percent of arriving international travelers. This past Sunday, for example, an agent's dog at a checkpoint on State Route 80, near Tombstone, alerted the patrol to what turned out to be 40 pounds of cocaine hidden inside the front. But the U.S. Department of Justice is less and less interested in low-level possession cases. %%EOF As part of its border enforcement strategy, Border Patrol operates immigration checkpoints where Border Patrol agents screen vehicles to identify people of foreign nationality who are potentially removable and they may enforce U.S. criminal law, such as seizing illegal drugs and interdicting human smugglers. A drug-sniffing dog alerts on the trailer of his rig. The original authorization said an agent could arrest any alien who in his presence or view is entering or attempting to enter the United States in violation of any law., Sen. David A. Reed, a Pennsylvania Republican, explained in the 1925 Senate debates about the legislation that Border Patrol agents could only operate close to the border itself: They have no right to go into the interior city and pick up aliens on the street and arrest them. He continued, We are all on alert against granting too much power to these officials to act without a warrant.. Police dogs used to sniff out drugs at a border patrol checkpoint on Interstate 93 last summer amounted to a violation of the state Constitution, a judge ruled, throwing out evidence against 18 defendants. (Recommendation 5), The Chief of Border Patrol should update CPMO's roles and responsibilities and communicate them across Border Patrol, including to sectors. <>/XObject<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> A judge in New Hampshire says evidence obtained by drug-sniffing dogs during last summer's U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoints in Woodstock is not admissible in state courts. However, agents do need reasonable suspicion to hold a device for an extended period of time or do invasive searches of that device. A U.S. Border Patrol agent checks a car on the Interstate 93 southbound lane on Sept. 28, south of Lincoln. Even though you always have the right to remain silent, if you dont answer questions to establish your citizenship, officials may detain you longer in order to verify your immigration status. Get stories like this in your inboxsign up for NHPR's Rundown newsletter today. So depending on which one you encounter, you'll want to be prepared to flex your rights appropriately. Inadmissibles refers to individuals encountered at ports of entry who are seeking lawful admission into the United States but are determined to be inadmissible, individuals presenting themselves to seek humanitarian protection under our laws, and individuals who withdraw an application for admission and return to their countries of origin within a short timeframe. Like a lot of poor Texas counties, Hudspeth built an oversize jail so it can rent out excess space to other counties at $45 a night per prisoner. When they set up interior checkpoints, everyone must stop for questioning and inspection. endstream endobj 10 0 obj <>>>/Metadata 3 0 R/Pages 7 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 11 0 obj <>/Resources<>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/TrimBox[0.0 0.0 792.0 612.0]/Type/Page>> endobj 12 0 obj <>stream That is not how the U.S. government sees it. When people are stopped at drug checkpoints and ports of entry, they are subject to search by drug-sniffing dogs and border patrol officers. The Woodstock Police Department and New Hampshire State Police have coordinated with Border Patrol agents during some of the checkpoints. He is stopped at a drug checkpoint near the Texas border. More Than Two . Roving stops dont even have to be based on anything related to the vehicle in question, just the characteristics of the area. 97 0 obj <>stream The Border Patrol has not yet begun to deploy its authority on a widespread basis in major cities in the 100-mile border zone. "A71g$26 @ F* RT @NoirPoetograpy: Did you know there is a US Border Patrol checkpoint in the westbound lane on Interstate 10 between Deming, TX, and Las Cruces, NM? "Cars were all slowed down to a near or complete. There's a Border Patrol inspection station in Brooks County, Texas, that catches lots of narcotics coming out of the Rio Grande Valley. The public's view of a typical Mexican drug smuggler might not include U.S. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Supreme Court shields Border Patrol agents from lawsuits over excessive force, Guerrero: Unending deaths of migrants, driven by desperation and U.S. border policies, Border agents used unnecessary force against Haitian migrants, report finds, What was behind the protest against an archaeologist at last weeks L.A. Times Book Festival, Opinion: California wants more psychiatric detentions. On our way back out of Big Bend (we camped there for three days), on a two lane highway we ran into a 'Border Patrol' station. The Canine Program's secondary goal is detection and seizure of controlled substances and other contraband, often used to finance terrorist and/or criminal drug trafficking organizations. The CBP Canine Program is critical to the mission of the Department of Homeland Security: "To Protect the Homeland." Officers may search any person, the inside of any vehicle, and all passenger belongings. Refusing a search does not give agents probable cause for a search. Do not sign anything without talking to a lawyer. Border Patrol may stop vehicles at certain checkpoints to: (1) ask a few, limited questions to verify citizenship of the vehicles occupants and (2) visually inspect the exterior of a vehicle. However, CBP prohibits videotaping or recording anything on government property at a port of entry. This was OK as long as he was getting federal criminal justice grants, but those have dried up. TSDS watchlisted non-citizens encountered by the CBP Office of Field Operations at land ports of entry prior to entry into the United States may be denied admission to our country upon presentation, barring justification for their arrest under CBP policy. A lock ( ]Vf7 D2Hu`@\i "r@$g=dv This Court finds that while the stated purpose of the checkpoints in this matter was screening for immigration violations, the primary purpose of the action was the detection and seizure of drugs, Rappa wrote. These days, though, after a decision by a local lawman, everyone from personal pot smokers to medium-size marijuana traffickers can avoid jail. An official website of the United States government. *POE totals may include multiple encounters of the same individual. Support the Public Media you love! Hudspeth County is not alone. Agents may send any vehicle to a secondary inspection area for the same purpose: brief questioning and visual inspection. 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. No one wants a president to die in office. The border is officially defined as a zone that extends 100 miles into the interior of the United States from all external boundaries. Should not damage personal property during an inspection. (Recommendation 2), The Chief of Border Patrol should require checkpoints with license plate readers to document secondary inspections by using the Border Enforcement Secondary Tool as intended. %PDF-1.7 % Federal agents used drug-sniffing dogs to alert them of suspicious vehicles, which would be diverted off the road and searched. Finally, in the 1970s the conflict between the 4th Amendment and the Border Patrols congressional authorization reached the Supreme Court. This table provides a summary of USBP encounters of non-U.S. citizens with records within the TSDS at the time of their encounter between U.S. ports of entry. Thirty-three people were detained for immigration-related offenses, while 44 were charged with drug possession, mostly small amounts of marijuana, by either Woodstock police or state police. 1 0 obj [Click here to read NHPR's previous coverage of Border Patrol checkpoints in Woodstock.]. For example, CPMO was not reviewing checkpoint resources and technologyan activity assigned to it by Border Patrol. Traditionally, the test has two parts: the first is that the plaintiff displayed an expectation of privacy, and the second is that this expectation is reasonable.. A judge ruled Friday that police dogs used to sniff out drugs at a border patrol checkpoint on Interstate 93 last summer amounted to a violation of the state Constitution. This table provides a summary of OFO encounters of all persons at ports of entry with records within the TSDS at the time of their encounter. RT @NoirPoetograpy: Did you know there is a US Border Patrol checkpoint in the westbound lane on Interstate 10 between Deming, TX, and Las Cruces, NM?