I'm all in favor of arresting and deporting illegal aliens. However, this has to be done within the context of the constitution and laws of the United States. If those principles are disregarded or wilfully ignored in the process of enforcing the law, then the law itself is brought into disrepute. That's why the federal oath of law enforcement office (an oath I myself have sworn) is so specific about upholding the constitution.
This is highlighted by the alleged conduct of a group of Customs and Border Patrol agents at J. F. Kennedy airport in New York recently.
Passengers of a domestic Delta flight from San Francisco to New York were told to show their identity documents to uniformed agents of the Customs and Border Protection agency upon their arrival at John F. Kennedy airport on Wednesday evening.
CBP officers are border agents, whose statutory authority is generally limited to international arrivals.
CBP agents inspected passenger identifications on the jetbridge by the door of the aircraft. A CBP spokesman insisted to Rolling Stone that this action is "nothing new" and that there is "no new policy." But the unusual – and legally questionable – search of domestic travelers comes days after the Department of Homeland Security outlined its plans to implement President Trump's sweeping executive order targeting millions of "removable aliens" for deportation.
. . .
19 C.F.R. 162.6 ... states, "All persons, baggage and merchandise arriving in the Customs territory of the United States from places outside thereof are liable to inspection by a CBP officer." The CBP document adds: "CBP has the authority to collect passenger name record information on all travelers entering or leaving the United States."
Asked to clarify CBP's authority over domestic passengers, the spokesman replied that "at this time this is all I have."
There's more at the link.
We need to be very, very cautious of law enforcement overreach in such situations. I would absolutely refuse to show my ID to agents or officers who have no legal authority whatsoever to demand to see it. It's not that I disrespect them; rather, I respect the law more than I do those seeking to misapply it.
There's an old but true saying:
Rights are like muscles.
If we don't use them,
they wither away.
Every time we allow law enforcement overreach, we let our rights atrophy. Let's not go there.
Peter
15 comments:
at ports of entry and within 100 miles of a border or ocean, you have no right to not show ID. The I-10 permanent roadblock out west, the entire state of Florida...
Check points on highways are illegal, too, but the sheeple tolerate them.
Did they ask any actual Americans for ID?
HILARIOUS! Limbaugh Airs 'Honest Democrat Response To Trump's Address To Congress'
http://commoncts.blogspot.com/2017/03/hilarious-limbaugh-airs-honest-democrat.html
ps. would you consider adding CC to your blogroll?
California law explicitly states both that law enforcement personnel can ask you for ID without probable cause, and that you are obligated to show it to them.
It's also against the law in that state to not have your ID with you.
As an aside, this also reinforces my determination from years ago that I would never willingly submit to a travel itinerary with firearms in checked baggage that included a carrier transfer in New York. In fact these days I'd be much more inclined to ship the guns Federal Express than run the risk of running afoul of law enforcement over reach.
The Constitution Free Zone
https://www.aclu.org/other/constitution-100-mile-border-zone
http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2013/02/does-a-constitution-free-zone-really-exist-in-america/
"California law explicitly states both that law enforcement personnel can ask you for ID without probable cause, and that you are obligated to show it to them.
It's also against the law in that state to not have your ID with you."
Hmm, that situation was addressed by the US Supreme Court. Brought by a black guy who liked to walk around neighborhoods. Kept getting hassled by cops due to no ID. Court told the cops it would get expensive for them if they continued being stupid, and that W-W-B didn't constitute Probable Cause.
If they had a legitimate grievance, they can go to a legitimate outlet to voice it. "Legitimate" meaning "not Rolling Fucking Stone." Unless a real news outlet picks this up, I'm calling bullshit (and no, CNN no longer counts as 'real' news).
".... whose statutory authority is generally limited to international arrivals."
That's a mouthful of nothing. Generally limited?
Will:
Hmm, that situation was addressed by the US Supreme Court. Brought by a black guy who liked to walk around neighborhoods. Kept getting hassled by cops due to no ID. Court told the cops it would get expensive for them if they continued being stupid, and that W-W-B didn't constitute Probable Cause.
What was the case, please? I don't recall that one. I recall Hiibel, which ruled stop-and-identify statutes to be constitutional, but explicitly didn't address the need to show ID papers.
Rode a bus from Phoenix to Wichita back in 2013. In Albuquerque a border patrol agent got on the bus and ask for our IDs. The Mexican lady sitting next to me had to dig for her visa, kind of pissed me off, because he didn't want to see my driver's license. Once she got her visa out he wasn't interested in her anymore. If you are going to ask for IDs look at everyone's.
Also, in the State of Kansas you can be arrested for not having ID on you, when you step out your front door. Would assume other states have the same law. Judy
Yeah, I noticed this a week or so back.
Apart from issues of legality and jurisdiction, and whether a flight from a sanctuary city qualifies as domestic, there's a glaring absurdity:
Supposedly, they were looking for a specific individual, with a (recent?) criminal record.
So why, oh why, were they randomly checking identity papers, instead of having a description, mug shots, and other such information useful for identifying the person they were looking for? Especially if they're looking for an illegal alien who might well have a second set of forged identity papers under a different name?
And had they bothered to check the passenger manifest, to see whether the name they were looking for had gotten on the plane in the first place?
"California law explicitly states both that law enforcement personnel can ask you for ID without probable cause, and that you are obligated to show it to them.
It's also against the law in that state to not have your ID with you."
Gotta have ID to walk down the street, but ID for voting is to much to ask?
Washington State, you are required to provide your identity to LEO while driving or upon citation/arrest. Perfectly legal to have no ID and Open Carry, on foot anyway.
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