Fox News Latino
January 16, 2014
Border Patrol agents at southern Arizona checkpoints routinely violate the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens with illegal searches and other actions despite the agency’s mandate that stops be limited to immigration enforcement, according to a complaint filed Wednesday.
The letter from the American Civil Liberties Union to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General seeks an investigation into 12 specific cases and a review of checkpoint policies to determine if agents are complying with constitutional guidelines.
“Border residents regularly experience extended interrogation and detention not related to establishing citizenship, invasive searches, verbal harassment, and physical assault, among other abuses,” ACLU of Arizona attorney James Lyall wrote. “Border Patrol checkpoints often appear to be operated as drug interdiction checkpoints, which are unconstitutional, and not for the limited purpose of verifying residence status.”
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