Through a new project, Checkpoint: America, Cato Institute found that Texas has the most Customs and Border Protection (CBP) checkpoints in the U.S., despite resistance to any federal influence on the state. What was initially a 25-mile interior enforcement zone was expanded to 100 miles, without any public input.
Border Patrol agents at checkpoints have subjected immigrants along the border to terrorizing tactics and the inability to travel freely within the country. In fact, we’ve recently witnessed two separate occasions in which patients who were seeking emergency care in cities outside of the border were followed for hundreds of miles by Border Patrol only to be detained for seeking care.
Read excerpts from the Dallas Morning News piece below and find the full article here:
The Lone Star state has a rich history and cultural heritage, with many firsts to its credit. But there’s one not-so-glorious distinction bestowed upon this state by the federal government: Texas has more internal Customs and Border Protection checkpoints than any other state in the Union.
A new Cato Institute project, Checkpoint: America, provides the maps and related information to prove it. What it also provides are accounts of the naked brutality and disregard for constitutional rights that are also a feature of these checkpoints.
The case of Greg Rosenberg is a prime example. Rosenberg immigrated to the United States from Armenia during the first decade of the 21st century. Rosenberg grew up in what was then Soviet-occupied Armenia. Internal checkpoints were a key means of repression and control, just one of the many things Greg thought he’d left behind when he came to America and started his life here as a long-haul truck driver.
As chronicled by ReasonTV, Greg found out the hard way that Customs and Border Protection agents could be just as abusive as their former Soviet counterparts.
In late September 2014, Rosenberg found himself on Interstate 35 near Laredo. Like every other motorist, he was forced to pull over at the local Customs and Border Protection checkpoint. Rosenberg’s complexion, and his accented English immediately drew the attention of agents. When Rosenberg asserted his rights not to answer the agents’ questions, they dragged him from his vehicle and locked him up without charge for 19 days. No Customs and Border Protection official was ever disciplined for the incident.
Rosenberg’s experience, as well as the back story on how these checkpoints came into existence, should enrage every American who believes in the right to travel freely without federal interference.
