Constitution-Free Zone Alive & Well!
#61
#62
Join Date: Apr 2005
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At this point, it should be clear to everyone that the "real" push for "Real-ID" is to make these random checkpoints even more effective. "Oh I see your ID doesn't have the special real id markings: you are either a pain in the neck libertarian or here illegally, please step out of the vehicle"
#63
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#64
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 471
Edit: Ok, I want to edit this as I've cooled down and my reply did sound a little harsh. I should clarify that the CBP still needs probably cause, or at least suspicion, to detain someone away from the border. As others have posted, a US citizens is not required to carry any ID, let alone a passport. So if you speak fluent English and say "I don't have ID, too bad" then said CBP better have a darn good excuse for detaining you unless they enjoy a long and drawn out ride through the court system. But even this is a not a clear cut case. For example, my wife is originally from Asian and though she has been here for 25 years and a citizens for 15 years, she still has an accent. Unlike a green card holder, she is under no obligation to carry "papers". So here you have what most lawyers would call a "sticky situation", thanks to our black robed morons. As a US citizens you are free to travel without restriction and without documentation, but you may well raise reasonable suspicion if you happen to encounter an CBP who thinks they're about to catch the next Bin Laden.
Last edited by VelvetJones; Jan 25, 2018 at 8:54 pm
#65
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: BNE
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A US identification can be anything--a driver's license, a medicaid or medicare card, a food stamp card, a credit card etc.etc. ALL of these documents are only issued to those who are LEGALLY in the US. --try to open a bank account now a days. --or try to be an illegal and get a credit card. So, holders of these cards are either legal, or they are experts at forgery.
#66
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For example, my wife is originally from Asian and though she has been here for 25 years and a citizens for 15 years, she still has an accent. Unlike a green card holder, she is under no obligation to carry "papers". So here you have what most lawyers would call a "sticky situation", thanks to our black robed morons. As a US citizens you are free to travel without restriction and without documentation, but you may well raise reasonable suspicion if you happen to encounter an CBP who thinks they're about to catch the next Bin Laden.
#67
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 58
I walked into a Citibank branch in San Francisco and opened a bank account with nothing more than a New Zealand passport and an Australian Driver's License. Not a single piece of US documentation whatsoever (not even a US Immigration Visa). They asked if I'd like a credit card with that. From what you're saying, I could then pass myself off as a legal US resident even if I were to overstay my visa simply because I have a bank account and credit card?
Last edited by TWA884; Jan 28, 2018 at 10:26 am Reason: Please save the political commentaries for OMNI/PR
#68
Moderator: Manufactured Spending
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 6,578
The main problem here, as I see it, is that no one was "required" to provide ID. That's why there's no constitutional violation. 99.9% of Americans are sheep. When dudes with guns and badges uniforms ask them questions, they answer. When those dudes ask them for ID, people give them ID. If every bus riding American told these guys to piss off and refused to answer questions or provide ID, these checks would have to stop.
My guess is that this lady slipped up and said something indicating that she was not in the country legally. That gave them probable cause to arrest her. If she had simply said "I am Jane Roe, and I decline to answer any further questions", they would not have been able to arrest her. Refusal to provide ID, refusal to answer questions, having a foreign accent, and so on, are not probable cause that a crime has been committed.
Hypothetical situation: You, a citizen of the United States of America, are traveling on a public road. You encounter a random checkpoint where officers are demanding proof of you citizenship. So what proof is acceptable?
In my case, I don't know what I'd offer. My driver's license? That just shows that my home state issued me a driver's license. I do not travel with my Social Security card because the risk of identity theft is high if my purse or wallet were stolen.
I also do not travel within the US with my passport, my birth certificate or marriage license which shows why my last name is different on my driver's license than it is on my birth certificate.
My word on it? Clearly that is not the case, or nobody would have to present papers.
I am not arguing the point that it is against the law to be here without proper documentation. I am asking how everyone here would prove their US citizenship if they ran into a random roadblock tonight in their automobile or while riding a bus, train, etc. within US borders.
In my case, I don't know what I'd offer. My driver's license? That just shows that my home state issued me a driver's license. I do not travel with my Social Security card because the risk of identity theft is high if my purse or wallet were stolen.
I also do not travel within the US with my passport, my birth certificate or marriage license which shows why my last name is different on my driver's license than it is on my birth certificate.
My word on it? Clearly that is not the case, or nobody would have to present papers.
I am not arguing the point that it is against the law to be here without proper documentation. I am asking how everyone here would prove their US citizenship if they ran into a random roadblock tonight in their automobile or while riding a bus, train, etc. within US borders.
Almost everyone who gets arrested by CBP or ICE accidentally says something to indicate they are not in the country legally. Law enforcement officers are trained on how to get people talking, and how to get them to admit to a crime. Seemingly innocent questions like "did you grow up around here?" can be very effective.
This is why you do NOT talk to police, whether they are your local municipal cops, or federal agents. Unless you are driving, going through an actual border, or carrying a firearm, you do not have to show ID. State your name and address if asked, and then (politely, of course) decline to continue the conversation.
Last edited by cbn42; Jan 28, 2018 at 9:45 pm
#69
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: DFW
Posts: 28,083
Absolutely true. This search was completely constitutional, because no one was required to provide ID. When law enforcement randomly approaches you and asks you questions, it is usually seen as a casual conversation, not a legal demand.
My guess is that this lady slipped up and said something indicating that she was not in the country legally. That gave them probable cause to arrest her. If she had simply said "I am Jane Roe, and I decline to answer any further questions", they would not have been able to arrest her. Refusal to provide ID, refusal to answer questions, having a foreign accent, and so on, are not probable cause that a crime has been committed.
CBP cannot just "question" someone's status. Like any other law enforcement, they have to have probable cause to arrest you.
Almost everyone who gets arrested by CBP or ICE accidentally says something to indicate they are not in the country legally. Law enforcement officers are trained on how to get people talking, and how to get them to admit to a crime. Seemingly innocent questions like "did you grow up around here?" can be very effective.
This is why you do NOT talk to police, whether they are your local municipal cops, or federal agents. Unless you are driving, going through an actual border, or carrying a firearm, you do not have to show ID. State your name and address if asked, and then (politely, of course) decline to continue the conversation.
My guess is that this lady slipped up and said something indicating that she was not in the country legally. That gave them probable cause to arrest her. If she had simply said "I am Jane Roe, and I decline to answer any further questions", they would not have been able to arrest her. Refusal to provide ID, refusal to answer questions, having a foreign accent, and so on, are not probable cause that a crime has been committed.
CBP cannot just "question" someone's status. Like any other law enforcement, they have to have probable cause to arrest you.
Almost everyone who gets arrested by CBP or ICE accidentally says something to indicate they are not in the country legally. Law enforcement officers are trained on how to get people talking, and how to get them to admit to a crime. Seemingly innocent questions like "did you grow up around here?" can be very effective.
This is why you do NOT talk to police, whether they are your local municipal cops, or federal agents. Unless you are driving, going through an actual border, or carrying a firearm, you do not have to show ID. State your name and address if asked, and then (politely, of course) decline to continue the conversation.
#70
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That is the court-legislated legal purpose. I think the words are something like "brief stop to determine citizenship status." This does not include running the drug dog around your car during this "brief stop" but they do it anyway because nobody has the fortitude or the Constitutional ethics to tell them to stop.
#71
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That is the court-legislated legal purpose. I think the words are something like "brief stop to determine citizenship status." This does not include running the drug dog around your car during this "brief stop" but they do it anyway because nobody has the fortitude or the Constitutional ethics to tell them to stop.
#72
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Apparently not, because the CBP website is full of these kinds of "big catches". I'm all for drug interdiction but I care about our constitution and rule of law a heck of a lot more.
#73
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#74
Moderator: Manufactured Spending
Join Date: Jul 2011
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Such searches and seizures are illegal if bringing and using the dogs prolongs the detention beyond the time reasonably necessary to determine citizenship or legal status. Rodriguez v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 1609 (2015)
#75
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 471
Hahahaha!! I don't know about that. I bet many of the accented people CPB encounter are well above the CPB agent's intelligence.