Documentary Film – According to current federal law, border patrol agents currently have the authority to stop and conduct searches on vessels, trains, aircraft, or other vehicles anywhere within “a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States.” This “reasonable distance” is defined as 100 miles from any border, including coastal boundaries.
In this 100-mile zone, the US Border Patrol has claimed certain extra-constitutional powers, such as, claiming the authority to operate immigration checkpoints.
In practice, Border Patrol agents routinely ignore or misunderstand the limits of their legal authority, violating the constitutional rights of innocent people. Although the 100-mile border zone is not literally “Constitution-free,” it is frequently treated as such by the Border Patrol.
