Border Patrol agents set up a checkpoint on the causeway connecting Milton and South Hero. Photo courtesy of ACLU-VT
Border authorities detained a Mexican citizen who they say was “illegally present” in the country during a checkpoint along a road in northwestern Vermont Tuesday.
Tuesday’s checkpoint was the second Border Patrol has carried out on the same road in two months. Last month, Border Patrol set up a similar checkpoint on a stretch of Route 2 known as the Sandbar Causeway, which connects the Champlain Islands with the mainland.
Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Michael McCarthy would not identify the Mexican citizen who Border Patrol arrested during the checkpoint, citing that the individual is facing civil, rather than criminal, proceedings.
He said the individual was turned over to the division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that is responsible for removal proceedings.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., posted on Twitter that nearly 900 cars were stopped during the checkpoint.
Nearly 900 cars were stopped in #Vermont. One person was found to be overstaying a visa. Fishing expeditions are a terrible use of our law enforcement resources. I will soon reintroduce my bill with Senator @PattyMurray to rein in these interior checkpoints. https://t.co/QSFFMsdFYV
— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) June 13, 2019
Leahy has been critical of the broad authority Border Patrol has to conduct searches up to 100 miles from international boundaries.
He has drafted legislation that would limit the zone where Border Patrol has enhanced powers to within 25 miles of the border. The bill is also supported by Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
All three lawmakers sharply criticized Border Patrol’s plans to hold more checkpoints in Vermont last year.
McCarthy said he was unable to confirm how many vehicles were stopped during Tuesday’s checkpoint.
McCarthy did not respond directly to a question as to why two checkpoints were held in the same area in such short succession.
“The timing, locations and frequency of our tactical immigration checkpoints are law enforcement sensitive and not something we share,” he said in a statement. “We select locations along routes from the immediate border area that are known or suspected to be used by smuggling organization.”
Lia Ernst, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, said the repeated checkpoints Border Patrol held in the same area show a disregard for the policies and attitudes Vermont has taken towards immigrants.
“What we see is that the administration is lashing out at jurisdictions that don’t want to feed its residents into the deportation machine,” Ernst said.
ACLU-VT has been sharply critical of the immigration checks Border Patrol has carried out in the state away from the border, which have included asking passengers on an Amtrak train in White River Junction and a Greyhound bus at the Burlington airport about their citizenship. The organization recently released a factsheet outlining individuals’ rights when interacting with Border Patrol.
According to Ernst, checkpoints raise constitutional rights concerns.
“The problem with dragnets is not that they never uncover anything, it’s that they make a mockery of the constitutional right to search and seizure,” Ernst said.
In the northwest part of the state, where there are many dairy farms, a result of a checkpoint could be to intimidate migrant farmworkers who work in the region, she said.
“It’s basically telling people that they are not safe anywhere, they just need to stay on their farms and not being involved in civic and public life in Vermont,” Ernst said.
Anna Marie DeMars, Grand Isle Selectboard chair, drove through the first checkpoint in May. During a brief stop, an officer asked what country she and her husband were born in, and they were able to carry on their way.
DeMars said she hasn’t heard much from residents about the checkpoints, though one local did raise some concerns.
The checkpoint was unusual, and bustled with lots of official cars and dogs. It slowed traffic down a bit. DeMars assumed Border Patrol set up the checkpoint there because the area is close to the Canadian border.
“I don’t even know what they’re looking for,” she said.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Border Patrol detains one in second highway checkpoint.