5 Lies Border Patrol Tells
I’ve debated publishing this for a long time — even after discussing it with current and former Border Patrol agents who verified these are the very statements they are taught to use in the academy — but it is time, especially in light of the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear Frasier v. Evans last week.
As our community continues to suffer insane militarization for political theatre, and Gov. Greg Abbott rolls the Texas National Guard out because, “The Haitians are coming!” it’s time for everyone to understand the lies Border Patrol and all of their partners, from federal to local police, will tell you if you have interaction with them on the borderlands:
1. This area is off limits or closed to the public, so you can’t be here or you must go.
If you know the area is open and you have full authority to be there, so you “push back” by stating as much, then you will likely be told:
2. This is a high-traffic area or “hot spot” for people/drugs/cartel/etc. so it is not safe or it is very dangerous for you to be here.
If you know this to be false, as we do at the National Butterfly Center, and say, “Thank you, officer, but I’m alright/know better,” you will likely be told:
3. This is federal property.
Honestly, this one is laughable, given the fact the law enforcement officer (LEO) often will not even know whose property he or she is on. If you say, “No, it’s not,” or god-forbid laugh, you will likely be told:
4. We had a suspicious vehicle/person called in that matches your description.
At this point, the LEO may begin questioning you or ask that you get out of your vehicle, if you are in one. If you have not been recording the interaction with your cell phone and, ideally, with an app that livestreams to designated contacts, such MigraCam by the American Civil Liberties Union, you should be now. At this point you will be told:
5. You can’t film/record me.
As of last week (Nov. 5) all residents of the United States, except those living in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming, have a clear constitutional right to record LEOs in public.
If you assert your right to record law enforcement in public, especially while on duty or having declared they are a LEO, this is likely to end the interaction, even if it becomes tense or starts to devolve, as most LEOs still do not want their misdeeds broadcast publicly or used against them in a court of law.
Our legislators and now, the Supreme Court, are refusing to address abuse of authority, excessive force and the judicial-created doctrine of qualified immunity that shields government officials — particularly, LEOs — from being held personally liable for the wrong they do.
Moreover, LEOs are not only trained, but authorized, to use deception as a strategy for effecting their will. It’s an invaluable tool in their arsenal against the public; so, we must know our rights and their ploys, if we are to protect ourselves against the United States’ growing police state.