Broad Jurisdiction Of U.S. Border Patrol Raises Concerns About Racial Profiling
U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brad Brant shows a commonly patrolled area along the U.S.-Canada border, where sometimes people attempt to smuggle drugs and people across the border.
Photo by Ryan Caron King for NENC
Some civil rights advocates have raised concerns that U.S. Border Patrol may be infringing on people’s civil rights as it carries out stops in its vast jurisdiction.
Within 100 miles of the border and the coastline, U.S. Border Patrol agents have broad authority to stop cars and people for immigration questions. For example, over the past few months the agency has set up checkpoints in New Hampshire, stopping hundreds of cars and arresting more than two dozen undocumented immigrants.