© googleLight gray line is the Canadian border. Dark purple is the outline of Lower and Upper Michigan. 100 mile perimeter should only parallel the light gray line.
A lawsuit is accusing the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of turning the entire state of Michigan into a "border zone" where anyone can be detained and searched without a warrant, according to ACLU-Michigan.The complaint is centered on the CBP's
interpretation of a 100-mile zone regulation and how it is applied in Michigan, according to documents filed in Detroit federal court on Wednesday. "CBP agents patrolling the 'border' could potentially subject anyone in Michigan - regardless of where he or she is within the state - to
warrantless detention and search," the complaint said.
Under federal law, CBP agents can conduct warrantless searches of vehicles "within a reasonable distance from an external boundary of the United States...for the
purpose of patrolling the border to prevent the illegal entry of non-citizens," the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU-Michigan) said in its complaint.
Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes, although Lake Michigan is not on the international border. Many parts of the state are technically
more than 100 miles from Canada. Federal authorities have said checkpoints elsewhere within the nation's 100-mile border zone are crucial to catching human and drug smugglers who illegally cross into the US.
© ACLUAs you can see, Michigan is doubly border patrolled even though Lake Michigan is US waters.
Through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the ACLU sought documents about Border Patrol enforcement policies in the state between 2012 and 2014 from the Department of Homeland Security and CBP.
Though a single document was received, the ACLU accused the agencies of violating the provisions of the FOIA request with a late and insufficient response. The documents would show stop and detention records, apprehension logs and complaint records.
The single document they received was a
heavily redacted Border Patrol apprehension log. From data culled from the log, the ACLU and its co-plaintiff, the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, saw
almost one in three, or 31 percent, of people apprehended by Border Patrol were US citizens, and over 63 percent of those apprehended had been stopped by other law enforcement agencies before their CBP encounter.
The ACLU told the
Detroit Free Press that the documents will show
how far from the international border the stops are happening, why agents are
processing so many US citizens, and what percentage of stops
involve people of color and thus whether the agency is engage in
racial profiling."Without the release of all the documents plaintiffs have requested, the
public will remain unaware of the impact of the Border Patrol enforcement operations being conducted in Michigan, and of
the extent to which the Border Patrol is
conducting warrantless detentions and searches throughout the entire state," the complaint stated.
Comment: Government agencies willingly give up information they want you to know and will take liberties with what you don't know. Michigan is not the only state where the 100 mile perimeter is being violated. The reality is that Border Patrol's interior enforcement operations encroach deep into and across the United States with more than 170 interior checkpoints. Adopted in 1953 without public comment or debate, the Border Patrol utilizes watch lists, database systems, automated targeting, traveler risk assessment, advanced identification and tracking systems including electronic passports, the "virtual border fence" and drone aircraft. In other words, the militarization of an
unlimited US Border Zone and infringement on Constitutional rights.
For a primer on the 100-mile border zone and your rights,
go here.
Comment: Government agencies willingly give up information they want you to know and will take liberties with what you don't know. Michigan is not the only state where the 100 mile perimeter is being violated. The reality is that Border Patrol's interior enforcement operations encroach deep into and across the United States with more than 170 interior checkpoints. Adopted in 1953 without public comment or debate, the Border Patrol utilizes watch lists, database systems, automated targeting, traveler risk assessment, advanced identification and tracking systems including electronic passports, the "virtual border fence" and drone aircraft. In other words, the militarization of an unlimited US Border Zone and infringement on Constitutional rights.
For a primer on the 100-mile border zone and your rights, go here.