 Barry Steinhardt, |
You’re driving along a remote, dusty road, when suddenly you come upon a border patrol checkpoint. There, agents demand to see your identity papers, and search your car. You are taken by surprise, because you know you haven’t wandered across the Texas-Mexico border. In fact, you’re quite sure of that, because you’re driving through rural Wisconsin countryside west of Green Bay. Even the Canadian border is more than 90 miles away.
This scene is not as far-fetched as you might want to believe. The government is turning vast swaths of our country into a “Constitution-Free Zone” in which U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is allowed to exercise extraordinary authority that would not normally be permitted under the Constitution. The government says that “the border” — where there is a longstanding view that the Constitution does not fully apply — actually stretches 100 miles inland from the nation’s “external boundary.” And increasingly, we are seeing DHS vigorously utilize that authority.
Today we held a press conference at the National Press Club here in D.C. to try to draw attention to this problem — and the fact that, as we showed, nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population live within this “Constitution-Free Zone.” That’s 197.4 million people.
Found by Ian Warner
This story is NOT bullshit. I used to live in Rio Rico Arizona, about 20 miles north of the border. I routinely had to pass through a border patrol checkpoint just to get to Tucson.
That was in the mid 90’s. It has gotten worse.
Always amuses me how people think their freedom comes from the right to own a hand gun.
I could care less if you have one or not, but if push comes to shove and you think that’s going to save you from a Government gone bad, then you’ve never looked down the barrel of an M1 Abrams Tank.
Go out to recreate most anywhere in Northern Montana. Chances are you will be stopped and questioned by the overlords/keepers/masters. Keep your tone level, and grovel some, they like that too.
We might not know, but they definitely do, that we are subjects not citizens.
(nosy bunch of farging bastages they are)
Have you liberals ever heard of 9-11 & the terrorists? Dick told me to remind everybody this & not mention anything about independent contractors making a fortuneas a result. Did I do good, dick?
Maybe you Americans would have been better off loosing the war for independence.
On the other hand probably not. The civil rights here in Europa and especially in the UK are also greatly diminished.
I am looking for a new planet…
The US has become a Gestapo state.
Thanks Bush!
That’s right, buddy, we’re making a list and we’re checking you twice!
#32 Glenn E said:
“I believe that the ACLU basically tries to do good. But occasionally goes a bit overboard, defending one side more than it should (or more than that side deserves). Like over gays’ right to be married. Representing a tiny fraction of the whole US population, in such a rarely occurring situation.”
This is exactly what the ACLU is for. To protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority. It seems the feeling is that they are doing good when they defend “us”, but bad when they are defending “them”. The “them” keeps changing. At one time it was blacks marrying whites in this country, or Jews marrying Aryans in Germany. Now it’s gays marrying. The point is, that they defend the rights of the unpopular to preserve the rights of all.
Years ago, the ACLU defended the rights of American Nazi’s to peacefully march in Skokie, ILL. Although they are the most unamerican of groups, they had rights, too. It was an unpopular position, that cost them much support. However, it was totally consistent with their mission.
Wow! I am just fucking amazed that some people here see this as a problem with the ACLU instead of a problem with the government over reaching its powers.
May I say to those people. YOU ARE A BUNCH OF TOOLS!!!!
Repukes think the OVAL OFFICE IS A CONSTITUTION-FREE ZONE too !!! Just goes to show you WHO THE ANTI-AMERICANS REALLY ARE !!!
Real Americans KNOW WHAT THEY NEED TO DO THIS COMING ELECTION DAY !!!
I’m more afraid of the Canadians…I went into one of their border offices to get my sales tax refund as a non-citizen and they had up all kinda posters like “You’re not allowed to call people names in Canada – you foreigner, you!!”
No free speech there.
to #43
No, I don’t think they were there. But imagine if they were.
#47 That would have funny. The whole group probably been shot for trying to defend the right of pedophiles.
# 48 Paddy Cake the Ignorant Shit Talker
The ACLU doesn’t defend pedophilia. They defend the constitution and particularly the bill of rights. If a pedophiles rights are violated then so are yours.
You Americans are used to having far too many rights! This sort of behavior is par for the course here in Portugal…
The guy says that It’s like living in a police state.
Buddy, you are living in a police state. Wake up!
#51 Don’t worry, if Omama is elected he’ll change it…
#52 Maybe he will and maybe he won’t. One things for sure though. If McSame is elected…he WON’T!!
#53 “Maybe he will and maybe he won’t. One things for sure though. If McSame is elected…he WON’T!!”
Hmmm, Obama voted for FISA so, based on his record, he won’t.
In NM at least, there’s a permanent Border Patrol station near Truth or Consequences NM, that’s roughly 120 miles from Sunland Park NM, the closest border crossing.
The Border Patrol also randomly set up checkpoints on other highways in the southern part of the state, as well as in Texas along the border. I have no idea how many illegals are actually caught this way, because there are many roads that can bypass the checkpoints.
Hopefully Homeland Security will be dismantled by whoever wins the election, and its duties divided among agencies that know what they’re doing, and whose administrators have actually read the Constitution.
#56 Could be. Normally you could have 50% chance with a flip flopper. Obama changes that a bit with one of his favorite votes, “present”.
LOL
I’ve been looking at these articles and this is mostly bullshit for a number of reasons.
1) They talk about this ‘100 mile Constitution free zone.’ There is no evidence anywhere in these articles that the Border Patrol, nor any other government agency has declared the ‘border region’ to extend 100 miles nor that they are doing anything different in this zone than anywhere else.
2) If this is so, why the f&^k isn’t the ACLU, who will file a suit over seemingly ANY breach of civil rights, NOT filling suit against the gubm’nt about it?
3) The two examples they do provide are one 15 miles from San Diego and one on the Mexican border. How does this equate to a ‘100 mile Constitution free zone?’
4) I happen to actually LIVE in San Diego. Have for over 40 years. Guess what? There’s been a Border Patrol check point on the freeway to LA as long as I can remember. It’s about 40 miles from the border. You know what they do there? They ask your citizenship? If you are not a US citizen, they may, MAY mind you, decide to make sure you’re here legally. They also have been known to check vehicles for smuggled goods and people. We can get into another side discussion about smuggling and drugs, but, they are currently illegal and checking for smuggling is legal. Know what they’ve done for the last few years since illegal immigration has become a hot button issue? NOTHING! They don’t even stop people and check citizenship anymore. How can things be worse when they’ve loosened up the checkpoints?
5) Dig further into the articles. One Vince Peppard refused to let the Border Patrol search his vehicle when he brought back a bunch of tiles from Mexico, so they took him to secondary and checked for drugs. Why? Because a whole shitload of drugs comes across that border every day and the Mexican cartels have upped the violence quotient hugely in recent times. I’ve personally crossed the border a bunch of times. You show customs what you have if they ask and then you move along. Easy. Unless you want to make a political statement. Well, surprise! The Man sometimes pulls out the ‘respect my authorit-i’ card. Duh! It’s been that way forever. It doesn’t make them right, but it is FAR from un-Constitutional.
Bottom line, there is nothing new here you retards! Where have you been in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s when all the sane shit was going on! This has NOTHING to do with Bush, Republicans nor any of the usual boogey-men that the ACLU, Alex Jones (certified whackjob), Wired, and Daily Kos (following the train of the articles) are harping about. This is so far from 9/11 and Bush that it just shows the rank stupidity of the whiners writing these articles. The ACLU is 40 YEARS too late on this and all the rest of the fellow travelers are too ignorant to know it.
As far as the usual rants about fascism and the like, get out of the f*#$%ng and travel some! Get a real perspective on what things are like around the world and you might begin to understand the difference between real freedom and real police states. The US really is the freest country on the planet (that I’ve been to, maybe New Zealand is freer, but not from what I’ve heard) and this ‘US is a fascist state’ nonsense is so much crap it makes it hard to take anything else you say seriously.
#58 “They don’t even stop people and check citizenship anymore. How can things be worse when they’ve loosened up the checkpoints?”
I hadn’t driven that way for a few years. I did last year and was surprised to see that for the 1st time in decades that the I-5 checkpoint no longer stopped cars near Camp Pendleton.
#59 – Paddy-O, ya, about 2004 when illegal immigration became a big time political football, the Border Patrol just stopped …
My office is in Tustin and I travel back and forth at least 4-5 times a month, not to mention trips up North for other reasons. I haven’t seen so much as a single agent in the traffic lanes checking anybody for years.
Of course, all the trucks still have to go through the scales and, for those who may not have paid much attention, you would be shocked to see how they’re smuggling people North. I’ve seen people who’ve been sewed into the upholstery of car seats. People welded into the quarter panels of cars and trucks. Not to mention smuggling a gaggle in shipping containers and the like. It is positively disgusting to see what these smugglers do to these people, and then take hundreds or thousands from them for the ‘privilege.’ Gives a little perspective on how shitty things are in Mexico and Central America that people will go through this to be taken advantage of by US employers, and they’re happy to do it.
#58, geof,
Since when did “just because they always do it” become right?
Does the Constitution mean nothing to the Palintards?
#62 “Paddy, “Um … WTF??!!?”
That’s almost what I said to you the other day as you tried to explain how a transformer steps up amperage. LOL
#62–Scott==you say: “Protecting such rights is one aspect of democracy.” /// Actually, a bill of rights for all citizens that acts to protect minority groups is very UN-DEMOCRATIC. It goes against majority will. It by its nature cannot be enforced by a coscientious legislature==you needs courts to do it.
God Bless the ACLU. This blog has been short on their admirable work for some time now.
Incredibily important to keep in mind how unique the Bill of Rights really is.
WTF?
The excerpt mentions Green Bay, WI and then refers to a hundred mile zone from the border (I’m assuming the US-Canadian border).
But Green Bay is not anywhere near 100 miles from the border. The nearest land border crossing is Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan. About 275 road miles away. Maybe 200 by the way the crow flies. Wisconsin does not even touch Canada.
America is safer from the terrorists because they don’t hate us for our freedoms so much anymore.
#65
I would assume that the area around Lake Michigan is included because of ships.