Border Patrol agents given police powers to arrest tourists (Updated)
image credit: Pinterest
Imagine driving down the road and being stopped by a Border Patrol agent for speeding. Imagine Border Patrol agents responding to domestic abuse calls at people's homes. Imagine the Border Patrol responding to trespassing calls and detaining motorists with K-9's.
You can stop imagining, because it's happening in New York, Vermont, Maine and now New Hampshire. House Bill 1298 gives DHS's Border Patrol agents police powers in NH.
Americans can forget about DHS's 100 mile border zone inside the U.S., because now the Border Police Patrol has arrest powers throughout entire states! (Click here to find out if you live in a border zone.)
Chief Leonard Stell of the Swanton Police Department in Vermont, calls DHS's role 'scene stabilization' which is really just a euphemism for a national police program!
Col. Kevin Jordan, the head of NH's Fish and Game said, Conservation officers will also have arrest powers. According to Wikipedia, Border Patrol agents have full arrest powers even while they are off-duty.
The relationship between Border Patrol and local police is "great," according to Michael Estella, operations chief for the U.S. Border Patrol's Swanton sector.
Border Patrol cops allowed to detain and arrest tourists
According to HB 1298, NH Border Patrol agents' can arrest tourists citizens for any number of reasons,
I. In this section, “a certified border patrol agent” means a person who:
For years, DHS has run the Border Patrol like the military with little fear of any repercussion.
Giving the Border Patrol police powers, what could possibly go wrong?
Four years ago, a Families for Freedom report revealed that New York Border Patrol agents had wrongfully arrested hundreds of people in exchange for Home Depot gift cards and cash bonuses.
John "Lory" Ghertner warned about giving Border Patrol police powers...
"You have performance quotas to actually be rewarding (agents) to pull over U.S. citizens, to handcuff U.S. citizens in front of their families, to drag them into Border Patrol stations and to accuse them of stuff that they didn't do,"
Updated 3/24:
Border Patrol agent took my sister and me into a closet and sexually assaulted us
Below are a few excerpts taken from the ACLU's California blog...
"Once we arrived at the station, my sister and I were asked to remove our shoes, questioned, and then placed in a holding cell. We were left there with only one CBP officer. The CBP officer took me to what seemed like a closet. The room had no windows or furniture and had food in it. It seemed like a pantry, which made me wonder why he brought me here. The whole situation felt strange from the beginning."
"Once in the closet-like-room, the officer blocked the door and asked me to remove my sweater, shirt, and tank top. He said this was to make sure I wasn’t carrying anything illegal. But he didn’t stop there. He lifted my bra, placed his hands inside, and caressed my breasts."
"He then demanded I remove my pants and tights. I tried to calm him down and reassured him I had nothing to hide, but he started to forcefully pull down my underwear. He touched me inappropriately, running his hand over my vagina. I was so scared and confused — I couldn’t understand why he was doing this. It clearly wasn’t necessary for security purposes. Now that I look back, I feel so stupid that I let it happen. And I now realize it was all for his own enjoyment."
The Border Patrol has a track record of falsely arresting and harassing people, so it's not that hard to imagine them arresting and harassing tourists.
Border Patrol cops given Federal immunity from prosecution
A recent Appeals Court ruling in California should serve as a warning to everyone.
"The federal civil-rights statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, authorizes suits against persons acting under color of state law for violations of rights granted by federal law. But under modern doctrine the defendant is not personally liable in damages for every violation of such rights. Wary of the damage to public welfare if government officers were deterred and distracted from vigorous performance of their duties by excessive exposure to litigation, the courts have provided them qualified immunity from suit despite their violations of federal law unless the unlawfulness of their actions has been clearly established by the time they act."
An article in the Union Leader warns, NH's Bill is modeled on laws in NY, Vermont and Maine that protect the Border Patrol from liability.
Border Patrol cops work with local police in every state
"You will hear time and time again, and from every state, local and federal agency in the area, that we all have to work together for public safety. It has been a time-honored tradition and it will continue that way now that HB1298 has become law" Prince said.
An article in 'Tactical Life' describes how police and the Border Patrol work together to arrest people. And a 2014 article in My Statesman warns, Texas Border Patrol agents are arresting people 170 miles from the border.
A recent article in ArcaMax warned, US Customs agents are also posing as cops. Customs agents dressed as Police, tried to trick an undocumented woman in Connecticut into meeting them in a lobby so they could arrest her.
Officials said the lieutenant had asked why they were not wearing anything that said ICE, to which the agents responded: "Because the 'P' word is less scary than the 'I' word."
How is Trump going to pay for 15,000 additional Border Patrol cops?
DHS has an insatiable appetite for power and money. DHS is the 500 lb. gorilla in the room and they want a piece of the estimated $13 billion in tourism dollars, states like NH, ME and VT bring in each year.
Can you imagine what will happen to tourism dollars when 15,000+ Border Patrol cops begin detaining, ticketing and arresting tourists?
Border Patrol's recruitment vehicle
image credit: Pinterest
Do you want to arrest tourists, ticket people for speeding and arrest motorists for drunk driving? "Are You Up To The Challenge?" If you answered yes to any of these questions, congratulations you can become part of America's national police force.
To learn more about DHS creating a national police force, read 'Many police departments have been federalized by DHS' and 'Obama/DHS want to 'officially' create a national police force.'