Border Patrol Checking by Border

[NesSqueegee]

Hello does immigration check trains because my friend is riding with me and is scared of being deported we are traveling to from texas to california and i'm just wondering if they're going to check for his status or if he'll be in trouble

 

[RalphCT]

Don't know about the southern routes. But Border patrol officers have boarded the Empire Builder at Havre Montana in the past.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I’ve seen border patrol on several Amtrak trains. I shouldn’t be woken up and asked if I’m an American citizen when traveling in my own country but yet I have multiple times. :-/

 

[MARC Rider]

As far as I know, there are no routine checks, but the Border Patrol might randomly come through the train and ask you what your nationality is.

There are also internal checkpoints when you drive. There are at least 2 on US 90 in Texas west of San Antonio, and there's one on I-5 between San Diego and Los Angeles. I'm sure there are more on other roads sort of near the border. I also had to endure a temporary checkpoint on I-91 outside of White River Junction, Vermont. Again, they ask for your nationality, and I guess if you don't say "U.S." they want to see some documentation. The ones in Texas also had drug-sniffing dogs walk around your car.

Frankly, I think it's a waste of effort. Aside from the offensiveness of having to justify your presence to law enforcement without any particular reason on their part, the accounts I've read about these is that they mostly sweep up people who have relatively minor, non immigration related violations of various sources. The Border Patrol should really focus their resources on their mission, not serve as an extra arm for local law enforcement. It's a waste of tax dollars, and it clutter up our criminal justice system with low-level violators.

 

[TinCan782]

I've encountered them in El Paso on the Sunset Limited; seen them (unsure of agency) with their dogs on the camera at Tucson.
Depending on which agency they actually represent, drugs may be more problematic.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Hello does immigration check trains because my friend is riding with me and is scared of being deported we are traveling to from texas to california and i'm just wondering if they're going to check for his status or if he'll be in trouble

West Texas and Arizona tend to have the most Border Patrol Agents.

El Paso generallybto has Agents around the Station ( that's the Closest the Train comes to Mexico since the Border Fence is right next to the tracks), but I've not seen any board the Sunset Ltd during my many trips on this Route.

Your friend might not want to get off the Train during the El Paso and Tucson stops.

 

[jis]

After a close call or two, I acquired a Passport Card and carry it in my wallet at all times. However, I have never had to actually use it on a train. It is used mostly at airports with TSA. I have used it to travel by train to Canada and back though. Works very well, and I don't get asked inane questions about my travels to Israel or Muscat and Oman.

 

[Brian Battuello]

I've seen it once or twice, but it isn't routine. Your friend isn't at any more risk than at many job sites. Sadly, he'll always have to look over his shoulder whereever he goes.

And by the way, welcome to AU, NesSqueegee. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[oregon pioneer]

I have been in the dining car at Alpine, TX, when the Border Patrol got on the train and came through asking everyone their citizenship. The woman across from me calmly stated she was a Mexican citizen, and had her Green Card and passport ready (she was married to the American citizen next to her, whose Spanish teacher she had been in Mexico). The agents were courteous to everyone in the car. I did not see them question anyone's answers or documents.

I have also seen Border Patrol come down the aisle of the sleeper car with sniffing dogs at Buffalo, and saw them take a non-citizen off the train at Wolf Point. They were always courteous, but they did their job thoroughly. If a roomette was closed and locked, they insisted on a response, same with restrooms.

All my experiences were prior to January 2017.

 

[Cal]

I've encountered them in El Paso on the Sunset Limited; seen them (unsure of agency) with their dogs on the camera at Tucson.
Depending on which agency they actually represent, drugs may be more problematic.

Ditto

 

[neroden]

Amtrak kicked them off the trains for a couple of weeks when they were harassing passengers in Buffalo and delaying trains a few years back. They let Border Patrol back on, but Border Patrol is generally behaving better now -- they've been ordered not to delay trains, so Border Patrol has to be off the train before departure time or they're getting an unpaid trip and a fine for not buying a ticket. This generally keeps them off the trains at the quick station stops, though they may be on the platform.

Reports before the temporary kicking-off were that they were racially profiling and targeting people who didn't speak English or had a heavy non-US accent -- for most people they'd just ask "Nationality?" and accept it if the person said "US" in a US accent. Gross and stupid waste of taxpayer money, IMO.

 

[PVD]

At least Buffalo is near a border. They have gotten on in other places pretty far from the border, pushing their 100 mile limit to the edge... Away from the border, they just go on fishing expeditions to try and justify having money and manpower doing nothing related to their actual function.

 

[jis]

At least Buffalo is near a border. They have gotten on in other places pretty far from the border, pushing their 100 mile limit to the edge... Away from the border, they just go on fishing expeditions to try and justify having money and manpower doing nothing related to their actual function.

The fact that ICE and Border Patrol are some of the most corrupt organizations of the US government does not help much either.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Amtrak kicked them off the trains for a couple of weeks when they were harassing passengers in Buffalo and delaying trains a few years back. They let Border Patrol back on, but Border Patrol is generally behaving better now -- they've been ordered not to delay trains, so Border Patrol has to be off the train before departure time or they're getting an unpaid trip and a fine for not buying a ticket. This generally keeps them off the trains at the quick station stops, though they may be on the platform.

Reports before the temporary kicking-off were that they were racially profiling and targeting people who didn't speak English or had a heavy non-US accent -- for most people they'd just ask "Nationality?" and accept it if the person said "US" in a US accent. Gross and stupid waste of taxpayer money, IMO.

Does this mean people from Boston and New York were arrested?

 

[MARC Rider]

Does this people from Boston and New York were arrested?

Fortunately Baltimore is more than 100 miles from the seacoast. I'd like to see them set up an internal checkpoint on the Long Island Expressway (which is within 100 miles of the coast), though. We'll see how well that would go over.

 

[Willbridge]

I've been awoken in Grand Forks on Train 7 and asked if I was a U.S. citizen. Greyhound has recently reduced their cooperation with border officers after they took a professional comedian off a bus at Spokane. He missed his next performance date in Portland but got lots of material for his routine. He was legal, but with the reductions in bus service he had a long wait.

 

[joelkfla]

I have also seen Border Patrol come down the aisle of the sleeper car with sniffing dogs at Buffalo

Amtrak kicked them off the trains for a couple of weeks when they were harassing passengers in Buffalo and delaying trains a few years back.

Are Canadians rafting across the Niagara River to sneak into the U.S.?

What do you call a coyote in French?

 

[Everydaymatters]

On one train, I was in the cafe car and everyone in that car was told to return to their seats. The Border Patrol came on and we all had to show our ID's. I just can't remember which train that was.

 

[hlcteacher]

i have seen them board the southwest chief, (back in the day-the desert wind) and greyhound.

 

[PVD]

At a check on a train, they would not be able to ask for ID without reasonable suspicion except for the fact that Amtrak permits it.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

At a check on a train, they would not be able to ask for ID without reasonable suspicion except for the fact that Amtrak permits it.

They will just claim they have reasonable suspicion. You can’t really argue with them.

 

[jis]

At a check on a train, they would not be able to ask for ID without reasonable suspicion except for the fact that Amtrak permits it.

They will just claim they have reasonable suspicion. You can’t really argue with them.

Exactly!

Usually because it is more important for me to not disrupt my itinerary I would tend to show them my Id and carry on instead of arguing the point, as I think many others would too.

 

[PVD]

That is precisely what they rely on. Same thing they get away with about searches. You do not have to consent, and refusal to consent does not constitute reasonable suspicion. They know they will lose in court, they don't care, they count on most people not wanting their trips interrupted. Once in a while it backfires, and CBP loses badly, but qualified immunity shields the individuals involved. Much of what CBP does at long distance from the borders is using their authority for border/immigration control as a subterfuge to engage in general crime control activities. They have looked pretty stupid in New England, at one checkpoint, they stopped 4200 cars, caused major traffic headaches, and made one arrest for an overstayed Visa.

 

[jis]

That is precisely what they rely on. Same thing they get away with about searches. You do not have to consent, and refusal to consent does not constitute reasonable suspicion. They know they will lose in court, they don't care, they count on most people not wanting their trips interrupted. Once in a while it backfires, and CBP loses badly, but qualified immunity shields the individuals involved. Much of what CBP does at long distance from the borders is using their authority for border/immigration control as a subterfuge to engage in general crime control activities. They have looked pretty stupid in New England, at one checkpoint, they stopped 4200 cars, caused major traffic headaches, and made one arrest for an overstayed Visa.

Yup, and as far as I am concerned I don't care enough to spend my time fighting that battle. So I am guilty as charged, but life will go on as is as far as I am concerned. Showing an Id like wearing a mask is an easy thing to do. Those who have the time and money can spend such on this. Not me.

About searches, a favorite technique used by them is when you refuse, they say they will need to get a dog or warrant because they suspect you are carrying drugs or some such and until they can, they need to detain you, so off you go off the train as it sails away. Yeah sure, eventually you'll win and perhaps even extract considerable money from them and all that, but the vacation time is not going to come back. The realities of everyday life strongly lean towards them getting away with it, and they know it and exploit it. The issue is one has to select the windmills to lean against. Cannot lean against every one of them that comes your way.

 

[MARC Rider]

That is precisely what they rely on. Same thing they get away with about searches. You do not have to consent, and refusal to consent does not constitute reasonable suspicion. They know they will lose in court, they don't care, they count on most people not wanting their trips interrupted. Once in a while it backfires, and CBP loses badly, but qualified immunity shields the individuals involved. Much of what CBP does at long distance from the borders is using their authority for border/immigration control as a subterfuge to engage in general crime control activities. They have looked pretty stupid in New England, at one checkpoint, they stopped 4200 cars, caused major traffic headaches, and made one arrest for an overstayed Visa.

That sounds like the checkpoint I endured in Vermont in the mid 2000s.

Now, if I were a coyote smuggling Quebecois refugees in search of Anglophone culture and a privatized medical care system, I'd just send a scout car ahead, and if encounters a checkpoint, it can phone to the smuggler's van, which gen then get off at the next exit, and take side roads to avoid the checkpoint.