DHS Targets Amtrak Train Passengers For Random Searches & Seizures

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J.D. Tuccille over at ‘Disloyal Opposition‘ has a chilling article detailing the further expansion of Homeland Security operations inside the 100 mile Constitution-Free Zone.

It would appear that Customs & Border Protection agents are now randomly stopping Amtrak trains within 100 miles of an external border and questioning/searching passengers absent consent or probable cause.

“You’re traveling by train. Suddenly, it slows and comes to an unscheduled stop. Armed, uniformed men come aboard with dogs. They question passengers, search luggage and remove one of your fellow travelers for further interrogation. Is this some Cold War-era movie? Nope. It’s New Year’s Eve on an Amtrak train in California”.

The rest of the article is available here.

Border Patrol Forum On Washington State Checkpoints Draws A Concerned Crowd

jeffersonCountyWashingtonI’ve compiled several interesting news articles and YouTube videos regarding a public forum held on November 3, 2008 in Jefferson County, Washington below.

The forum was prompted by widespread concern in Jefferson County regarding the use of suspicionless checkpoints by Border Patrol agents operating no where near the border. The forum consisted of Blaine Sector Border Patrol Chief John Bates and sector mouthpiece Michael Bermudez along with local law enforcement officials and two immigration defense attorneys.

Over 400 local residents attended the forum and from the sound of things, very few were satisfied with the answers to their questions. Of particular note was the refusal of the Jefferson County Sheriff to assist the Border Patrol with identifying or charging individuals who refuse to provide ID or respond to investigatory questions posed to them by agents at such roadblocks:

U.S. Border Patrol Chief John Bates — who is the chief patrol agent for the Blaine Sector, which includes the North Olympic Peninsula — was asked by one person in the audience that was crammed into the Chimacum High School auditorium what would happen if a driver refused to give identification to a federal agent at a roadblock.

Bates said he would have to involve the Sheriff’s Office.

Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Brasfield said his office would not respond.

“I’m sorry, but we would not get involved,” Brasfield said to Bates.

“We do not have any rights to issue an infraction in that situation.”

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Homeland Security Obedience Training

Gilmore1SmallAs many of you know, I’ve been documenting my experiences at an internal suspicionless Homeland Security checkpoint along State Route 86 in Southern Arizona since January of 2008. While I’ve been stopped and seized well over fifty times since the beginning of the year, I’ve only posted a small fraction of the video footage. Choosing instead to highlight those seizures that have been the most egregious.

Two such videos appear below. Even though the seizures took place over six months apart, they are representative of what these Homeland Security checkpoints are really all about.

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Illegal Homeland Security Drug Checkpoints

CBPDrugDogThe suspicionless warrantless Homeland Security checkpoint seizure & drug dog search depicted in the photo above took place on the afternoon of May 16, 2008. The only crime committed by the operator of the vehicle receiving the extra special attention from armed federal agents & their specially trained canine pal was the crime of driving along a public highway located over 40 miles North of the border.

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Homeland Security Agents Reveal Illegal ‘Shotgunning’ Practice

shotgunningA few days after I was illegally stopped by a Homeland Security Roving Patrol late at night along SR86 in Southern Arizona, the news article appearing below was published in the Arizona Daily Star. The article discusses two Border Patrol agents who are suing the Department of Homeland Security for retaliating against them. The agents publicly revealed information regarding an often practiced but illegal enforcement technique known as ‘shotgunning’ by other DHS agents.

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Illegal Homeland Security Roving Patrol Traffic Stop

AgentStopWhile driving to a remote work site late in the evening on May 14, 2008, I was targeted by a Federal Homeland Security Agent on roving patrol and followed for several miles along SR86 in Southern Arizona. After following me for some distance, the agent initiated a traffic stop absent reasonable suspicion along a deserted stretch of this unlit two lane highway. There were no developed shoulders along the side of the road making it impossible to completely pull out of the lane of traffic.

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CBP Field Manual Shows Homeland Security Violations

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It’s been obvious for years that many of the enforcement techniques being wielded against individuals at suspicionless interior Homeland Security checkpoints have fundamentally violated the rights of the traveling public. Other than the clear language of the 4th Amendment however, the specifics of these violations haven’t been readily apparent – at least until now.

With the recent publication of the Customs & Border Protection Inspector’s Field Manual, these abuses have become abundantly clear. While the manual is geared towards Port of Entry inspections, it also discusses internal checkpoint operations such as those depicted in my videos & explains some of the legal differences between the two types of operations.

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Overzealous CBP Agents Cause Death of Infant

dead+babyAs DHS continues to wage its war on the right to travel, horror stories like the one appearing below will become increasingly common place. The question to ask is how much are decent Americans willing to put up with before putting an end to this…unique interpretation of ‘serving’ and ‘protecting’ being foisted upon us by an out-of-control Department of Homeland Security.

In the articles appearing below, so-called Customs and Border Protection Agents seized a 14 day old infant at the Honolulu airport along with the child’s mother and a nurse traveling with the family. The three individuals were placed into a customs detention room while overzealous agents attempted to verify their papers. What the agents apparently ignored during the process was that the infant was being flown to a Honolulu hospital for emergency heart surgery.

While Homeland Security agents continued detaining the infant and his mother for an extended period of time, the child died in the customs holding room.

I guess such life (and death) situations weren’t explicitly covered in the inspector’s field manual.

This sort of abuse of discretion makes me sick to my stomach. What about you?

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When All Else Fails, Silence The Messenger….

censorshipAs many readers are aware, I’ve been documenting my recent experiences at a suspicionless internal Homeland Security checkpoint located near mile marker 146 on SR86 in Southern Arizona. I’ve also been reporting these experiences to readers of this blog amongst other places.

As a result of documenting these encounters and reporting on them, there are currently several efforts underway by various individuals and organizations to either shutdown my website or force me to remove content previously posted. This post provides information regarding one such recent attempt.

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October ’07 Photos of Southern Arizona’s Gauntlet

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Selected photos from Southern Arizona’s State Route 86 between September and October 2007 are now available.

Enforcement activity over the past few months has been steady with Wackenhut immigration buses seemingly everywhere:

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