Press Herald - The government’s crackdown on illegal immigration came to an unexpected place on Wednesday: central Maine – about as far from the border with Mexico as it is possible to get. In Penobscot County, Border Patrol agents set up a vehicle checkpoint for 11 hours, stopping scores of vehicles and arresting a man from Haiti, according to the Portland Press Herald.
We’ve seen other stories of Border Patrol stops in random places in recent months as media attention and the focus of the Trump administration has turned to the subject of immigration. A checkpoint in New Hampshire this week. A woman in Montana was stopped by a Border Patrol agent who heard her speaking Spanish. (She was a citizen, born in Texas.) Related At Maine checkpoint, Border Patrol agents question travelers about citizenship
... There is a constitutional protection against being searched without a warrant, raising the question of how such demands from the Border Patrol are legal. If you’re crossing the border, you’re used to having to display a passport. But when you’re in the middle of Maine?
As it turns out, the middle of Maine – and much of northern Montana – are considered to be within the “border zone” of the United States. In fact, the entire states of Maine and New Hampshire are within the border zone, which extends 100 miles into the United States from every border and every coast. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, two-thirds of Americans live within the border zone, a function of the number of major cities located near the coast.
No comments:
Post a Comment