Warning: You WILL be interrogated for driving within 100 miles of the Canadian border

MassPrivateI

Random checkpoints are being set up by U.S. Customs [DHS] agents in the northeast within 100 miles of the Canadian border.

The Border Patrol operates a national network of internal checkpoints, illegally stopping motorists up to 100 miles inside our border! These illegal checkpoints allow DHS to stop and search law-abiding American citizens without justification.  

It’s about to get much WORSE, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved Bill S.750 which gives Border Patrol/DHS agents “immediate access to federal land within 100 miles” of both national borders and prohibit the “Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture” from impeding any CBP activities.

“Border Patrol already has unfettered access to protected federal public lands along the border,” Dan Millis, borderlands program coordinator for the Grand Canyon Chapter of theSierra Club. “In fact, Border Patrol currently has more access to the border and surrounding lands than the public.”

Imagine this: You and your family drive to Maine to visit Acadia National Park which receives over 2 MILLION tourists. Acadia is within 100 miles of the border and our govt sets up checkpoints to interrogate EVERY visitor! That’s the future of Police State America if we allow this B.S. to continue.

Christian Ramírez, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, criticized the legislation not only for what it sets out to do, but for what it doesn’t do. “What any border bill should include are reforms to Customs and Border Protection to ensure greater oversight and accountability, none of which are included in S.750.”

“Imagine this: Border Patrol decides to construct a surveillance tower dozens of feet tall, armed with cameras and motion sensors, in Saguaro National Park — Tucson’s backyard gem — with no public consultation,” added Millis. “It demonstrates the overreach and overkill of waiving laws 100 miles inland. That’s what McCain’s bill does.”

The ACLU has called for rejection of the 100-mile designation and wants CBP’s authority to be limited to “no more than 25 miles from the border and…incursions onto private property to no more than 10 miles.” “The ‘100-Mile Rule’ has never been subjected to meaningful debate or scrutiny in Congress. There is nothing in the record to indicate whether the Justice Department’s designation of 100 miles as a ‘reasonable distance’ was anything other than an arbitrary selection.”

The Watertown Daily Times describes how the Border Patrol is interrogating motorists in the Northeast:

Last week, Jessica A. Cooke, 21, Ogdensburg, was pulled over at a border checkpoint in Waddington by border patrol agents who wanted to search her car’s trunk. During an altercation that followed, Ms. Cooke was Tasered for recording them!

No charges have been filed and Ms. Cooke said she never was read her Miranda rights, adding she was told by agents they were trying to decide whether to file state or federal charges of assaulting an officer.

“They are trying to say that I put my hands on him first,” Ms. Cooke said. “That’s stupid; I had both hands on my phone, recording.”

The incident, which was captured on a cellphone video taken by Ms. Cooke, has prompted a spirited debate on social media sites. Ms. Cooke, a SUNY Canton criminal justice major who graduated Saturday, claims she was wrongfully assaulted and has threatened to file a lawsuit.

Several people said they believed both parties deserve some blame for the altercation: Ms. Cooke for provoking agents with an uncooperative attitude and the agents for using excessive force to restrain her.

Local citizens and visitors: speak out:

■ In Watertown, Antonio F. Gigliotti said he does not consider road checkpoints set up by the Border Patrol to be cause for concern. “They don’t bother me,” he said. Mr. Gigliotti said he has traveled through checkpoints before without an issue. He said since he does not have anything to hide, he never feels worried when he passes through one.

■ William R. Wagstaff Jr., Massena, said he believes border patrol agents at times abuse their power by asking to inspect vehicles without having reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed.
“This woman had every right to refuse to open her trunk,” Mr. Wagstaff said in an email. “I have refused several times to let them search me and put their K-9 in my vehicle.”

Mr. Wagstaff said he filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., and received a letter of apology. He also filed a complaint with border patrol officials in Swanton, Vt. “Now I don’t get harassed anymore,” he said.

■ A 26-year-old SUNY Canton student who asked that his name be withheld said he has personally experienced aggressive questioning by border patrol agents in Buffalo where he resides. He believes he was targeted because he is a black man who was traveling to Grand Island, a predominately white community. “Protection is definitely needed, but it’s wrong when that authority gets abused,” he said. “They (border patrol agents) have a role to play, but it must be contained in that role.”

Referring to Ms. Cooke’s situation, he said, “Her tone was a little abrasive, but they shouldn’t have put their hands on her. She wasn’t a threat to them or anyone around her.”

■ Edward B. Foote, 21, Canton, said he felt border patrol checkpoints were necessary to catch people with illegal drugs. “They (border patrol) probably push the limits sometimes, but I’ve never had that experience,” Mr. Foote said.

■ John Woodard Jr., Massena, said he believed the patrol officer in question in Ms. Cooke’s case went overboard with his behavior. “I think it was a little too excessive, actually,” Mr. Woodard said. “I think they’ve got a lot of stipulations for you to get across the border. People that have just minor felonies can’t even go across the border.”

■ Tim Drew, an Arizona resident who was interviewed in Massena, said while he has had limited experience dealing with border patrol on the U.S.-Canada line, he said he is familiar with border issues on the border with Mexico.

“I mean it’s regrettable, but when you enforce procedures in light of the recent security situations, innocent people do sometimes get hurt and it’s unfortunate, but I don’t find it to be wrong.”

Therein lies the problem, the public finds Border Patrol/DHS abuse “regrettable but don’t find it to be WRONG”!

There are too many SHEEPLE who don’t care if our rights are destroyed by DHS run law enforcement.
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news05/north-country-residents-have-mixed-views-on-us-border-patrol-checkpoints-20150515

http://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2015/05/warning-you-might-be-interrogated-for.html