US Border Patrol "interior checkpoints"

Posted by LionelHutz 10 years, 10 months ago to Government
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So, while driving around in Texas this past weekend I stumbled across a surprise that got me thinking.
The surprise was a Border Patrol checkpoint, arrayed with a mass of cameras and who knows what other sensors, as well as K9 units.
The location: near Sarita TX, on HWY 77, between Corpus Christi and Brownsville.
Mapquest says Sarita is 100.33 miles away from Brownsville, which is on the border.
Don't take this as a knock against the Border Patrol. They've got a legitimate job to do. I'm just incredulous that we're bothering to call them the "Border" Patrol if they're allowed to operate this far inside the interior. I'm also highly suspicious that the electronic gear they've got surrounding this checkpoint is being used for purposes other than securing a border.


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  • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 10 months ago
    There are special provisions on authority within some distance of a border - I don't remember if it's 50 or a hundred miles. With this station at the hundred mile point, I'm guessing that it's that distance.
    There are some great videos of folks that come upon these checkpoints and refuse to be inspected. You are not required to allow those inspections, but most people just give in to get on their way. If you're not doing or carrying anything illegal, they posit, what's the big deal. The big deal is that this creeping intrusion will just continue until all liberty is lost.
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  • Posted by $ johnrobert2 10 years, 10 months ago
    There is another at about the same distance between Edinburg and Falfurrias on US 281. I pass though it several times a year when returning from visiting my brother. There is a reason the checkpoints are so sophisticated. The criminals who utilize them are growing more sophisticated in their methods of circumventing and 'spoofing' them.
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  • Posted by mminnick 10 years, 10 months ago
    I would, for the moment, give them the benefit of doubt. That far inland from the border, the runners are likely to relax their guard a little and let up on some of their precautions. It might be easier to catch the runners there than on the border.
    Just hypothecating but it's possible. If they start showing up farther inland I'll get worried real quick. Itf the FBI, ATF etc start showing up, then I'll be way past worried.
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