US Border Patrol checkpoint on I-10 in west Texas
Mar 20, 2011, 9:51 pm
#151
Moderator: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 2P, MR LT Plat, IHG Plat, BW Dia, HH Au, Avis PC
Posts: 5,445
So what's the methodology here?
If you LOOK LIKE you might be an illegal or if you actually answer "no", then you are further interrogated?
How is this possibly effective, as an administrative search must be? How can it possibly be anything other than racial profiling?
Mar 21, 2011, 6:49 am
#152
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Houston
Posts: 8,956
I have been stopped at four different checkpoints in the last 10 days, one in New Mexico and the others in Texas. On Saturday was the one subject of the title of this thread:
In the time I was delayed by this checkpoint, I could have been over 10 miles down the road.
BP Agent: Hi, how are you doing, sir?
ND Sol: Okay.
BP Agent: Are you recording right now?
ND Sol: Is that a problem?
BP Agent: Both US citizens?
ND Sol: Yes.
BP Agent: Do you mind deleting that?
ND Sol: Yes, I do.
[BP Agent goes to rear of car to discuss with K-9 handler who is having the dog sniff all cars and then comes back]
BP Agent: All right, thank you.
ND Sol: Okay.
BP Agent: Are you recording right now?
ND Sol: Is that a problem?
BP Agent: Both US citizens?
ND Sol: Yes.
BP Agent: Do you mind deleting that?
ND Sol: Yes, I do.
[BP Agent goes to rear of car to discuss with K-9 handler who is having the dog sniff all cars and then comes back]
BP Agent: All right, thank you.
Mar 21, 2011, 7:42 am
#153
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 959
That is a good question. I have passed through these checkpoints (two on IH-35N and once IH-10E all in TX) with non-US citizens thrice, and everytime, the agent didn't ask another question and let us go. None of these were Mexican citizens (not sure if that matters but all were European).
In every stop I was driving and I was asked "All all of you US citizens" (or something very close to that) and I replied I am and they are Italian, or he is BRitish, or they are Spanish and Dutch. Then it was "Have a nice day" and I drove on.
Ciao,
FH
In every stop I was driving and I was asked "All all of you US citizens" (or something very close to that) and I replied I am and they are Italian, or he is BRitish, or they are Spanish and Dutch. Then it was "Have a nice day" and I drove on.
Ciao,
FH
Mar 26, 2011, 8:33 pm
#155
Join Date: May 2006
Location: MYF/CMA/SAN/YYZ/YKF
Programs: COdbaUA 1K MM, AA EXP, Bonbon Gold, GHA Titanium, Hertz PC, NEXUS and GE
Posts: 5,837
Just out of curiosity (I will probably never drive down in that part of the country), what happens in the case of a non US citizen?
My Canadian passport doesn't have any stamps of admission on it (I use NEXUS)..
Then again another question... Would they wave members of trusted traveler programs through without questions?
My Canadian passport doesn't have any stamps of admission on it (I use NEXUS)..
Then again another question... Would they wave members of trusted traveler programs through without questions?
Sep 8, 2011, 6:33 am
#156
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 1
Border Patrol does their job
I live in El PasoTX USA and travel frequently on the roads, which means regular stops at the BP checkpoints. Sometimes I am in the line to be questioned LONGER than the actual amount of questioning time. It is very brief, the agents are very professional, and are entirely within their legal right to detain anybody as long as needed to perform their designated duty. To refuse to cooperate with them is thwarting justice and could become just cause for secondary inspection.
On a related note, while my children were young and we traveled across the border, I was routinely put into secondary inspection because my spouse was not with us. When she joined us, no questions were ever asked!
On a not-so-related note, when traveling by air, I wear sandals to speed inspections. My sandals are former bicycling sandals with a steel shank, and look pretty torn up anyway. Of course they look pretty suspicious and TSA literally separated the sole from the footpad in effort to find something--which they did not. Unfortunately, it was never the same and my feet suffered thereafter!
Regardless, all of these personnel are experts and perform extremely well. I don't mind the extra few minutes.^
On a related note, while my children were young and we traveled across the border, I was routinely put into secondary inspection because my spouse was not with us. When she joined us, no questions were ever asked!
On a not-so-related note, when traveling by air, I wear sandals to speed inspections. My sandals are former bicycling sandals with a steel shank, and look pretty torn up anyway. Of course they look pretty suspicious and TSA literally separated the sole from the footpad in effort to find something--which they did not. Unfortunately, it was never the same and my feet suffered thereafter!
Regardless, all of these personnel are experts and perform extremely well. I don't mind the extra few minutes.^
Sep 8, 2011, 7:06 am
#157
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: STL
Posts: 1,546
I live in El PasoTX USA and travel frequently on the roads, which means regular stops at the BP checkpoints. Sometimes I am in the line to be questioned LONGER than the actual amount of questioning time. It is very brief, the agents are very professional, and are entirely within their legal right to detain anybody as long as needed to perform their designated duty. To refuse to cooperate with them is thwarting justice and could become just cause for secondary inspection.
On a related note, while my children were young and we traveled across the border, I was routinely put into secondary inspection because my spouse was not with us. When she joined us, no questions were ever asked!
On a not-so-related note, when traveling by air, I wear sandals to speed inspections. My sandals are former bicycling sandals with a steel shank, and look pretty torn up anyway. Of course they look pretty suspicious and TSA literally separated the sole from the footpad in effort to find something--which they did not. Unfortunately, it was never the same and my feet suffered thereafter!
Regardless, all of these personnel are experts and perform extremely well. I don't mind the extra few minutes.
On a not-so-related note, when traveling by air, I wear sandals to speed inspections. My sandals are former bicycling sandals with a steel shank, and look pretty torn up anyway. Of course they look pretty suspicious and TSA literally separated the sole from the footpad in effort to find something--which they did not. Unfortunately, it was never the same and my feet suffered thereafter!
Regardless, all of these personnel are experts and perform extremely well. I don't mind the extra few minutes.
Sep 8, 2011, 9:03 am
#158
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Marriott or Hilton hot tub with a big drink <glub> Beverage: To-Go Bag™ DYKWIA: SSSS /rolleyes ☈ Date Night: Costco
Programs: Sea Shell Lounge Platinum, TSA Pre✓ Refusnik Diamond, PWP Gold, FT subset of the subset
Posts: 12,509
Welcome to FlyerTalk! 
That's fine if you wish to believe that, but I don't think Constitution Free Zones are anything to be proud of.
Jan 26, 2012, 12:59 pm
#159
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 1
Drove thru this checkpoint a few nights ago. Was moving from the Portland area to Gulf Coast FL and decided to bypass the Rockies by driving down to LA and take the 10 across. So after deciding NOT to stay in El Paso (since I could hit a golf ball from the I-10 and hit Juarez) we decided to push on to Van Horn. Sure enough, we hit the border patrol checkpoint. They ask where we're heading, where we're coming from and if we have any illegal aliens in the car and if we have any weapons or drugs. We have nothing illegal in the vehicle, yet we're asked to pull over so they can inspect, and as we're pulling over, we're flanked by 5 agents...2 on each side and one behind us...the dog they walked around us didn't bark or anything. We were told that the dog was alerted by something. We're lead into the detention building where I'm patted down, then told to sit back down. My fiance and our 4 yr old son aren't checked. After sitting for about 45 minutes, we're lead back out to our vehicle and one of the agents points at our door and says "What's that?"...I didn't see anything, and he points again...sitting on my door handle is a partially smoked joint, wrapped in red, white and green paper with spanish writing on it. Pretty obvious it came from Mexico. We tell them it isn't ours, which of course it wasn't. They tried accusing us of throwing it out of the window at the checkpoint. Now, common sense would tell them that it wasn't ours considering that our vehicle didn't smell like pot and that we couldn't have thrown it out of the window with five agents surrounding us during the check, along with the dog. Then we were told that next time we would go to jail and to get outta here. Needless to say we were pretty pissed. /rant off
Jan 26, 2012, 6:19 pm
#160
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Marriott or Hilton hot tub with a big drink <glub> Beverage: To-Go Bag™ DYKWIA: SSSS /rolleyes ☈ Date Night: Costco
Programs: Sea Shell Lounge Platinum, TSA Pre✓ Refusnik Diamond, PWP Gold, FT subset of the subset
Posts: 12,509
Welcome to FlyerTalk!
I'm curious if one is allowed to watch their vehicle being inspected, at a distance, to make sure things like this don't get planted.
After sitting for about 45 minutes, we're lead back out to our vehicle and one of the agents points at our door and says "What's that?"...I didn't see anything, and he points again...sitting on my door handle is a partially smoked joint, wrapped in red, white and green paper with spanish writing on it.
Jan 26, 2012, 7:32 pm
#161
Moderator: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 2P, MR LT Plat, IHG Plat, BW Dia, HH Au, Avis PC
Posts: 5,445
This is exactly the problem with a search like this. In your everyday life, you can probably avoid any interaction with the police fairly easily. If not, the interaction will likely be in a random public location, with plenty of witnesses.
But at a checkpoint, you never know what you'll find and, because the setting is staged to benefit law enforcement, it can be staged to avoid any effective oversight.
Jan 26, 2012, 7:47 pm
#162
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,347
FB
Jan 26, 2012, 7:51 pm
#163
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,347
But what could you do? How could you prove it? Maybe record it... but would you be able to capture everything?
This is exactly the problem with a search like this. In your everyday life, you can probably avoid any interaction with the police fairly easily. If not, the interaction will likely be in a random public location, with plenty of witnesses.
But at a checkpoint, you never know what you'll find and, because the setting is staged to benefit law enforcement, it can be staged to avoid any effective oversight.
This is exactly the problem with a search like this. In your everyday life, you can probably avoid any interaction with the police fairly easily. If not, the interaction will likely be in a random public location, with plenty of witnesses.
But at a checkpoint, you never know what you'll find and, because the setting is staged to benefit law enforcement, it can be staged to avoid any effective oversight.
FB
Jan 26, 2012, 8:04 pm
#164
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Marriott or Hilton hot tub with a big drink <glub> Beverage: To-Go Bag™ DYKWIA: SSSS /rolleyes ☈ Date Night: Costco
Programs: Sea Shell Lounge Platinum, TSA Pre✓ Refusnik Diamond, PWP Gold, FT subset of the subset
Posts: 12,509
I wish there was some more consistency, and I don't see what the issue would be if the owner of the property could not interfere.
Good to hear. ^