Your rights at the border and beyond: A primer
By DANIEL DEMAY, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Updated 5:53 pm, Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Anyone inside U.S. borders has the protection of the Fourth Amendment against unwarranted search and seizure, but since most of the population (200 million) lives within 100 miles of a land or sea border, there are many instances where Customs and Border Protection officials can skirt at least some of that protection. Even still, the agency does have limitations to its power. And it's worth knowing where those limits are.
We pulled information from American Civil Liberties Union fact sheets to highlight just what Customs agents can and cannot do. Click through to see what your rights are as you approach our borders.
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Anyone inside U.S. borders has the protection of the Fourth Amendment against unwarranted search and seizure, but since most of the population (200 million) lives within 100 miles of a land or sea border, there
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Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
At border crossings ...
Agents can question anybody about their citizenship and what they are bringing into the country. Anyone who has crossed a border has gone through the "what was the purpose of your visit" routine, one that 19-year-olds returning from Canada tend to answer a bit awkwardly. At these crossings, you always have the right to remain silent, but it's not the best plan. If you don't say enough for agents to establish your citizenship, they can deny entry or hold you for questioning and search.
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At border crossings ...
Agents can question anybody about their citizenship and what they are bringing into the country. Anyone who has crossed a border has gone through the "what was the purpose of your visit"
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Photo: Getty Images
At border crossings ...
Customs and Border Protection agents can search with almost total freedom at border crossings. Your car, your luggage and other belongings and your person can all be subject to search without suspicion of wrongdoing or consent. More intrusive searches, like a strip search, do require a "reasonable suspicion" of an immigration violation or crime. Searches shouldn't use excessive force or damage personal property.Â
According to the ACLU, the government says it can also search electronic devices like computers and phones, also regardless of suspicion. Agents aren't supposed to hold devices for extended periods or perform invasive searches on those devices. These searches present an interesting problem, however. While an agent may be searching a phone at a crossing, the data in a social media account or email might be stored on a server far away -- even in another country. Opponents of these searches argue that data stored on far-flung servers is therefore outside the border crossing and not subject to search.
At border crossings ...
Customs and Border Protection agents can search with almost total freedom at border crossings. Your car, your luggage and other belongings and your person can all be subject to search
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Photo: Getty Images
At checkpoints ...
Border agents can stop vehicles at certain checkpoints (within the 100-mile border zone) to ask questions about occupants' citizenship and to "visually inspect the exterior of a vehicle," according to the ACLU. At their discretion, they can send the vehicle to a secondary inspection site for more of the same: Brief questioning and visual inspection.
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At checkpoints ...
Border agents can stop vehicles at certain checkpoints (within the 100-mile border zone) to ask questions about occupants' citizenship and to "visually inspect the exterior of a vehicle,"
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Photo: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images
At checkpoints ...
Agents aren't supposed to ask questions that don't relate to citizenship or hold you for an extended time without cause. Again, you have the right to remain silent, but if you don't answer questions to prove your citizenship, agents can hold you longer to check your status. You should not provide fake documents, lie about citizenship or make other false statements that might constitute a crime.
Agents also can't search the interior of your car without probable cause or the owner's consent. A drug-sniffing dog that alerts to the presence of drugs qualifies as probable cause.
The ACLU also advises that people never flee a checkpoint.
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At checkpoints ...
Agents aren't supposed to ask questions that don't relate to citizenship or hold you for an extended time without cause. Again, you have the right to remain silent, but if you don't answer
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Photo: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images
In the car ...
Customs agents may conduct roving patrols within 100 miles of the U.S. border, looking for immigration violations. But they can't pull over cars and question the driver and passengers about their citizenship status without a "reasonable suspicion" of an immigration violation or a crime, the ACLU advises.
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Customs agents may conduct roving patrols within 100 miles of the U.S. border, looking for immigration violations. But they can't pull over cars and question the driver and passengers about their
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In the car ...
The closer you are to the border, the more likely it is that Customs agents could come up with enough suspicion to justify a traffic stop. Still, the ACLU advises that agents should always be able to explain why they stop someone.
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In the car ...
The closer you are to the border, the more likely it is that Customs agents could come up with enough suspicion to justify a traffic stop. Still, the ACLU advises that agents should always be able
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Photo: Paul Joseph Brown, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
In the car ...
It is illegal for Customs to justify a stop based on perceived race or ethnicity of the driver or passengers. The same goes for religion, gender or national origin.
In the car ...
It is illegal for Customs to justify a stop based on perceived race or ethnicity of the driver or passengers. The same goes for religion, gender or national origin.
Photo: Getty Images
On private property ...
Within 25 miles of a border, Customs can enter private land without a warrant or consent. Still, they cannot enter a home or a dwelling anywhere on private land without a warrant or consent.
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On private property ...
Within 25 miles of a border, Customs can enter private land without a warrant or consent. Still, they cannot enter a home or a dwelling anywhere on private land without a warrant or
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Photo: Getty Images
On private property ...
More than 25 miles from the border (and presumably within the 100-mile border zone), agents cannot enter private land without a warrant or consent. If they are allowed to enter, they can't damage the property in the process of their search or other contact.
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On private property ...
More than 25 miles from the border (and presumably within the 100-mile border zone), agents cannot enter private land without a warrant or consent. If they are allowed to enter, they
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Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
In jail or detention ...
If you do wind up being detained or jailed, you retain your right to remain silent and to speak to an attorney. If you're from another country, you have the right to speak to your consulate.
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In jail or detention ...
If you do wind up being detained or jailed, you retain your right to remain silent and to speak to an attorney. If you're from another country, you have the right to speak to your
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Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
In jail or detention ...
You could be asked where you were born, how long you've been in the U.S. or how you got in. The ACLU says you don't have to answer any of these questions as the answers could be used to detain and even deport you.
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In jail or detention ...
You could be asked where you were born, how long you've been in the U.S. or how you got in. The ACLU says you don't have to answer any of these questions as the answers could be used to
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Photo: M. Spencer Green, AP
In jail or detention ...
The ACLU advises that you don't sign anything without talking to a lawyer. If you aren't a U.S. citizen, signing some documents could sacrifice your chance to try and stay in the U.S.
In jail or detention ...
The ACLU advises that you don't sign anything without talking to a lawyer. If you aren't a U.S. citizen, signing some documents could sacrifice your chance to try and stay in the U.S.
Photo: Michael Ciaglo / Houston Chronicle
And a few more tips ...
Videotaping, photographing or recording interactions with Customs is legal on private property, in vehicle stops and at checkpoints. But CBP doesn't allow recording on government property at a border crossing or port of entry.
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And a few more tips ...
Videotaping, photographing or recording interactions with Customs is legal on private property, in vehicle stops and at checkpoints. But CBP doesn't allow recording on government property
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Photo: Getty Images
Customs agents can board buses and trains to ask people about their citizenship or immigration status. Unless that bus or train is at a border crossing or port of entry, agents cannot search or even pat down luggage without consent or probable cause, the ACLU advises.
lessCustoms agents can board buses and trains to ask people about their citizenship or immigration status. Unless that bus or train is at a border crossing or port of entry, agents cannot search or even pat down
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Refusing a search does not count as probable cause for a search.
Refusing a search does not count as probable cause for a search.
Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images
You don't have to answer questions or provide identification if you're approached by CBP agents on the street or in a public place. The ACLU advises that you ask if you are free to go and, if you aren't, then you are under arrest and have the right to remain silent.
lessYou don't have to answer questions or provide identification if you're approached by CBP agents on the street or in a public place. The ACLU advises that you ask if you are free to go and, if you aren't, then
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Your rights at the border and beyond: A primer
As President Trump mulls a new executive order on immigration, many are wondering just how much U.S. border crossings might change under the new administration.
Already, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has said he wants visitors to the U.S. to have to hand over cell phones and passwords so border agents can see what they might be up to.
But even without a directive, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have fairly broad powers that stretch well beyond border checkpoints.
Check out the slideshow above to see just what immigration enforcement officers can and can’t do at and around the U.S.’s borders.
For starters, CBP has authority to operate up to 100 miles from any land or sea border. That puts roughly 200 million people -- about two-thirds of the U.S. population -- in areas where immigration officers operate, according to information from the American Civil Liberties Union.
That means many people who might not even think about crossing a border could just as easily run into Customs agents.
And those agents have what the ACLU calls “extra-Constitutional powers” in many cases, meaning they can circumvent Fourth Amendment protections against illegal search and seizure.
Technically, Customs agents can’t just pull anyone over because of ethnicity, or because the agent has a hunch about them. But if agents have a “reasonable suspicion” of an immigration violation or crime, they have a fairly blank check to take action.
To avoid unnecessary hassles at the border or elsewhere, it’s good to know just how far agents can go and how to be prepared.
Traveling to and from Canada -- our closest land and sea border crossing -- U.S. citizens age 16 and older need to carry a passport or enhanced driver’s license (or a FAST card or NEXUS card). Those who aren’t citizens will need a permanent resident card.
For those 15 and under, a birth certificate or a Canadian citizenship card will be necessary.
At a border crossing -- driving in a car, getting off a boat or getting off a plane -- travelers should know that border agents can conduct a “routine search” regardless of suspicion of any crimes. That would include searching luggage or looking in a vehicle, according to ACLU information.
Outside of the border crossings but within the 100-mile zone, agents need probable cause to conduct a search of person or vehicle, and things get more technical when they enter private property.
In our slideshow above, we spell out what immigration enforcement officers can and can’t do and where they can and can’t do it. Click through to get a better idea of your rights both at a border crossing and anywhere within 100 miles of a border.
Daniel DeMay covers Seattle culture, business and transportation for seattlepi.com. He can be reached at 206-448-8362 or danieldemay@seattlepi.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Daniel_DeMay.
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