CBP ID Checks of Passengers Arriving on Domestic Flights
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: SoCal
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CBP ID Checks of Passengers Arriving on Domestic Flights
I was on a recent flight from ORD to IAD. As I was walking up the jetway to the terminal, there were four Customs Border Patrol agents making their way down the jetway. The only time I have experienced CBP agents in the jetway was on international flights checking. Is this new,
#2
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: SFO
Programs: WFBF
Posts: 963
Were they actually checking every passenger coming off the plane? Did they stop you or ask you questions?
Likeliest explanation is a specific passenger on the plane was of interest to them, and that's why they were there.
Likeliest explanation is a specific passenger on the plane was of interest to them, and that's why they were there.
#3
Original Poster
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Location: SoCal
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CBP check on a domestic flight?
I was just about to enter the terminal after deplaning when I saw the agents about to head down the jetway. They didn't say anything to me nor did they say anything to the other passengers that deplaned when I did. However, there were still a lot of passengers that hadn't deplaned yet.
#4
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Dallas
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SFO-JAX Delta pax forced to go thru immigration?
An editor from Vice reported on twitter yesterday that she & fellow passengers were forced to undergo immigration inspection prior to being allowed to deplane on a flight from SFO to JFK. I zoomed in on the photo, and it appears to be a Delta aircraft.
Does anyone know anything about this?
Link:
Does anyone know anything about this?
Link:
#5
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An editor from Vice reported on twitter yesterday that she & fellow passengers were forced to undergo immigration inspection prior to being allowed to deplane on a flight from SFO to JFK. I zoomed in on the photo, and it appears to be a Delta aircraft.
Does anyone know anything about this?
Link: https://twitter.com/annediego/status/834572312317923328
Does anyone know anything about this?
Link: https://twitter.com/annediego/status/834572312317923328
#6
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: WAS
Programs: enjoyed being warm spit for a few years on CO/UA but now nothing :(
Posts: 2,505
Yes, unusual but not uncommon. Typically used when looking for a particular individual for any of a number of reasons under the purview of CBP/DHS. Also could have been done at the request of/to assist another agency.
#9
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 580
1. What happens if one does not have proof of citizenship, only a driver's license? At least for New Mexico, there have been many driver's licenses granted in the last few years to people who are undocumented, thus having the license that one used for the TSA is not a good indication of citizenship.
2. Is one required to answer questions in this case? What happens if one does not answer any questions at all?
3. Can they search electronics, etc. in these instances, or only inquire about citizenship?
2. Is one required to answer questions in this case? What happens if one does not answer any questions at all?
3. Can they search electronics, etc. in these instances, or only inquire about citizenship?
#10
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1. What happens if one does not have proof of citizenship, only a driver's license? At least for New Mexico, there have been many driver's licenses granted in the last few years to people who are undocumented, thus having the license that one used for the TSA is not a good indication of citizenship.
2. Is one required to answer questions in this case? What happens if one does not answer any questions at all?
3. Can they search electronics, etc. in these instances, or only inquire about citizenship?
2. Is one required to answer questions in this case? What happens if one does not answer any questions at all?
3. Can they search electronics, etc. in these instances, or only inquire about citizenship?
2. I would say I'm a US citizen traveling domestically while immigration and customs checks are for those crossing borders not for Americans like me staying in America on this trip.
3. They use a border zone doctrine/exemption but the notion of the area being a constitution-free zone is arguable. Here is the ACLU's take on it:
https://www.aclu.org/other/constitut...le-border-zone
#11
Join Date: May 2015
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Posts: 108
1. What happens if one does not have proof of citizenship, only a driver's license? At least for New Mexico, there have been many driver's licenses granted in the last few years to people who are undocumented, thus having the license that one used for the TSA is not a good indication of citizenship.
2. Is one required to answer questions in this case? What happens if one does not answer any questions at all?
3. Can they search electronics, etc. in these instances, or only inquire about citizenship?
2. Is one required to answer questions in this case? What happens if one does not answer any questions at all?
3. Can they search electronics, etc. in these instances, or only inquire about citizenship?
As such, you are neither obligated to answer questions, nor let them search electronics (or indeed your bags). They can only obligate you to answer or let them search with an appropriate warrant.
Now, anyone can engage anyone else in a "voluntary conversation." If they ask you your citizenship, and you tell them you are anything other than American, it gives them probable cause to ask you for immigration papers, and can legally force you to do so. They still cannot search your person or your belongings without your consent or without a warrant.
This is very similar to "temporary mobile CBP checkpoints" which SCOTUS ruled to be legal within 100 miles of a land or sea border. SCOTUS, however, affirmed citizens' 4th and 5th amendment rights in these cases, and you are free to refuse to answer.
EDIT:
It follows that if you are not a US citizen but say that you are, you are committing a felony by lying to a federal officer of the law.
Last edited by chintanshah123; Feb 23, 2017 at 1:13 pm
#12
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: AA, DL
Posts: 326
I can answer #2 and #3. Based on various precedents and court opinions, it seems that CBP has virtually unchecked authority to search belongings at US borders. In this case, since you are not at a US border, 4th and 5th amendment protections against unreasonable searches and self-incrimination apply.
As such, you are neither obligated to answer questions, nor let them search electronics (or indeed your bags). They can only obligate you to answer or let them search with an appropriate warrant.
Now, anyone can engage anyone else in a "voluntary conversation." If they ask you your citizenship, and you tell them you are anything other than American, it gives them probable cause to ask you for immigration papers, and can legally force you to do so. They still cannot search your person or your belongings without your consent or without a warrant.
This is very similar to "temporary mobile CBP checkpoints" which SCOTUS ruled to be legal within 100 miles of a land or sea border. SCOTUS, however, affirmed citizens' 4th and 5th amendment rights in these cases, and you are free to refuse to answer.
As such, you are neither obligated to answer questions, nor let them search electronics (or indeed your bags). They can only obligate you to answer or let them search with an appropriate warrant.
Now, anyone can engage anyone else in a "voluntary conversation." If they ask you your citizenship, and you tell them you are anything other than American, it gives them probable cause to ask you for immigration papers, and can legally force you to do so. They still cannot search your person or your belongings without your consent or without a warrant.
This is very similar to "temporary mobile CBP checkpoints" which SCOTUS ruled to be legal within 100 miles of a land or sea border. SCOTUS, however, affirmed citizens' 4th and 5th amendment rights in these cases, and you are free to refuse to answer.
#13
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: AA, DL
Posts: 326
The flight was Delta flight 1583 from San Francisco to New York and U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it was searching for an unidentified individual.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at John F. Kennedy Airport was contacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) yesterday, February 22, 2017, to assist in locating an individual possibly aboard Delta flight 1583 from San Francisco International Airport to JFK,” the agency said in a statement released to KPIX 5. “This individual was ordered removed by an immigration judge. To assist our law enforcement partners, two CBP officers requested identification from those on the flight in order to help identify the individual. The individual was determined not to be on the flight.”
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at John F. Kennedy Airport was contacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) yesterday, February 22, 2017, to assist in locating an individual possibly aboard Delta flight 1583 from San Francisco International Airport to JFK,” the agency said in a statement released to KPIX 5. “This individual was ordered removed by an immigration judge. To assist our law enforcement partners, two CBP officers requested identification from those on the flight in order to help identify the individual. The individual was determined not to be on the flight.”
#14
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: LAX
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Posts: 4,783
CBP Checks IDs on the jetway of a domestic flight
On an SFO-JFK flight yesterday (Feb 22)
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/201...-arrival-gate/
I guess my DM card probably wouldn't do
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/201...-arrival-gate/
I guess my DM card probably wouldn't do