In the great southwest we are accustomed to the familiar green and white paintjob of the US Border Patrol vehicles. Along the highways and interstates through California, Arizona and New Mexico they are sometimes more prevalent than actual highway patrol officers. There is a new tactic however that is netting lots of unsuspecting travelers, including my brother.
About 5 months ago, while returning from San Diego along I-8 he and his girlfriend came upon a long line of cars a few miles east of the California-Arizona state line. As they idled forward they realized that they had driven into a DHS Border Patrol random checkpoint.
Now when you usually travel through state lines you get to slow down and the state official gives you a brief glance, maybe asks if you are transporting any dangerous fruits or plants. Most states, as far as I know, do not have authority to stop all interstate travel for a random search, that bit of facism is reserved for the feds. Apparently the DHS allows the border patrol to conduct these kinds of checkpoints anywhere within 100 miles of an international border. Not going through the border, mind you, but within 100 miles.
Fine, maybe they catch a few illegal immigrants, since they are almost always found walking right along the highway. I-8 is a notorious corridor for human smuggling. Problem is that the info network among the smugglers and border crossers is pretty good. They steer well clear of these kinds of traps.
On this day my brother was not transporting any illegal immigrants so he felt at ease, at least until he saw the canine units. The DHS was deploying canine units to sniff every car in the line. When the dog halted next to his truck he started to sweat.
See my brother is one of those freedom loving Americans who likes to imbibe a little pot, especially while on a vacation at the beach with his lovely girlfriend. On this return trip they didn't have any actual marijuana with them, but they were in possession of a smoking device of sufficient dankness to catch the nose of the Border Patrol's german shepherd.
The border patrol pulled him off the road and then let the dog rummage through his truck until the device was found. He was given a citation and notice to appear in court in Yuma, Arizona, 3 weeks hence. At first he was relieved that he wasn't being hauled off to jail, but as he resumed his trip home he became angry about the whole, civil liberty abusing affair.
By the time he told me he had calmed down, but it was my turn to be incensed. The first thing I told him was to fight it, don't let them sucker you into some crappy plea deal. Thinking back to the old days, I told him, "how often is a Border Patrol agent going to actually show up for a misdemeanor hearing for some small time paraphenalia bust?" According to him he was 1 of 3 others that he saw getting pulled out of line that day. Thats a lot of citations for the border patrol to follow up on.
Turns out the DHS and the local authorities got themselves a little scam going, according to my brother's lawyer. Yes, they are showing up, he was told. Yes, they are processing hundreds of these citations a month in Yuma County. It seems the Yuma County sheriff took it upon himself to deputize the border patrol. Now we get this great all encompassing police entity that can use its federal powers to bust small timers on behalf of the state and county. My brother was not charged under federal law, it was under Arizona statutes.
That was a few months ago but I recently picked up an issue of the local independent rag, New Times. You may have heard of them, as they are notorious for taking on America's toughest (and most self-aggrandizing) sheriff, Joe Arpaio. Well in this issue they devoted a whole story to the ongoing abuses along the I-8 corridor from California to Arizona. Turns out that they have indeed busted hundreds or small time freedom smokers in their little scam. Illegal immigrants, not so many.
In fact, zero.
New Times article
So, pot-loving travelers of the southwest, you have been warned. Pretty soon it will within 500 miles of an international border. Then we can look foward to anywhere within the borders.