Re:A U.S. Citizen Was Detained While Trying to Pay for a Gif...
by munk-a on Wednesday October 23, 2019 @05:06PM
(#21339016)
So, prior to this thing there was always an exemption for warrantless searches carried out under exigent circumstances. The addition of this law does nothing but weaken an existing, and highly clarified, exemption.
Re:A U.S. Citizen Was Detained While Trying to Pay for a Gif...
by Spooky23 on Wednesday October 23, 2019 @06:29PM
(#21339754)
The current policy has been in effect since the Korean War. It’s difficult to compare pre-war policy to today. Border activity was mostly about taxation in those days.
The only new thing is the increased size of the sprawling bureaucracy of Customs and the Border Control, and the increased tempo of operations.
The real problem is the growth of executive power and the supine nature of the Congress and courts. This particular issue has attention due to the disgusting conduct of the current administration. We live in an era where the President believes that he posses banana republic like presidential immunity and executive privilege.
From the Congressional Research Service: (https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL31826.pdf, page 8)
> Under the “extended border search” doctrine, government officials may conduct a warrantless search beyond the border or its functional equivalent if (1) the government officials have a reasonable certainty that a border was crossed or there exists a “high degree of probability” that a border was crossed; (2) they also have reasonable certainty that no change in the object of the search has occurred between the time of the border crossing and the search; and (3) they have “reasonable suspicion” that criminal activity was occurring.
In online reporting, there is often significant confusion between the "Extended Border Area" (ie. the 100 mile zone) and the "Functional Equivalent of the Border" (ie. an airport customs zone).