Arrests/Searches & Seizures

Like all law enforcement agents, CBP officers are bound by the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures,” as well as governing statutory and regulatory authority. Read More…

Assaults and Use of Excessive Force

CBP officers and Border Patrol agents hold wide discretion as to their use of force during the course of their work. This discretion has enabled the use of abusive, excessive, and deadly force in situations where alternative response methods are available. Read More…

Confiscation of Property

It is generally unlawful for the government to confiscate personal property except through a fair hearing. Yet migrants and U.S. citizens alike regularly report that CBP officers have confiscated their property without a meaningful opportunity to seek return of that property. Read More…

Cooperation with Local Police

Despite their lack of authority to enforce federal law, local law enforcement agencies often collaborate with Border Patrol, calling them to the scene of a traffic stop or arresting individuals and holding them until federal immigration authorities can take them into custody. Read More…

Custody Conditions

CBP often holds detained noncitizens in jails or jail-like institutions where many are subjected to such horrors as abuse and mistreatment by officials, deprivation of adequate medical care, unlawful searches and appalling living conditions. Read More…

First Amendment Violations

Widespread abuses by Customs and Border Protection officials without repercussions or accountability have led many to refer to the border zone area as a constitution-free zone. Read more…

Racial Profiling

One of the fundamental problems exacerbated by the dramatic expansion of Customs and Border Protection is the largely unchecked practice of racial profiling. Read more…

Removal/Deportation

At and near the border, CBP relies upon a range of procedures that result in summary expulsion from the United States, including expedited removal, voluntary return, and reinstatement of removal. Read More…