{"id":16799,"date":"2018-04-02T16:47:34","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T20:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=16799"},"modified":"2018-12-28T10:39:20","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T15:39:20","slug":"hey-aclu-stop-throwing-greyhound-under-the-bus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2018\/04\/02\/hey-aclu-stop-throwing-greyhound-under-the-bus\/","title":{"rendered":"Hey ACLU, Stop Throwing Greyhound Under the Bus!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) just can\u2019t seem to leave Greyhound Bus Lines alone. As FAIR has noted, the so-called civil rights organization has been pressuring<\/a> the venerable transport company to violate federal immigration laws \u2013 alleging that doing so would preserve the \u201cconstitutional rights\u201d of both Greyhound and its passengers.<\/p>\n

The ACLU\u2019s point of contention is searches of passenger buses regularly conducted by the U.S. Border Patrol at transportation hubs in border zones. According to the ACLU, the nation\u2019s largest motor coach operator should simply stop giving the Border Patrol permission to search its buses. The latest attack on Greyhound came in the form of protests at bus terminals<\/a> in central and western New York, which seem to be part of a concerted campaign<\/a> involving ACLU chapters from Florida<\/a> to California<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, there is a major problem with the ACLU\u2019s recommendation. It\u2019s incredibly poor legal advice. The Border Patrol doesn\u2019t need a search warrant to board and search a bus in a border zone. 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1357(a)(3)\u00a0<\/a>specifically permits immigration officers, without warrant, to board and search any railway car, conveyance or vehicle, to look for illegal aliens, within a reasonable distance of any external boundary of the United States. Current law defines a reasonable distance from the border to be 100 air miles. Rochester, New York, is roughly 85 miles from the Canadian border.<\/p>\n

Illegal aliens frequently enter the U.S. and then board busses or trains to get away from the border. Immigration authorities have a legitimate interest in detecting them and apprehending them before they disappear into the interior of the country. Accordingly, the Supreme Court<\/a> has repeatedly found<\/a> that warrantless searches at or near the border fall within the so-called \u201cBorder Search Exception\u201d and immigration agents are free to board public conveyances in the border zone to verify travelers\u2019 immigration status.<\/p>\n

Of course, neither the relevant statute, nor the interpreting precedent, fit the ACLU\u2019s \u201cimmigration enforcement-equals-oppression<\/a>\u201d narrative. So it simply ignores them and attempts to bully<\/a> companies like Greyhound into violating our immigration laws, thereby aiding illegal aliens, and thwarting legitimate efforts to protect our borders.<\/p>\n

However, the fact that the ACLU has conjured up a non-existent \u201cright\u201d to illegally jump<\/a> our borders and get away with it doesn\u2019t mean Greyhound has to buy into the illusion. Like all companies operating in the United States, it has a vested interest in cooperating with law enforcement to keep its customers safe. So, maybe it\u2019s time for Greyhound\u2019s executives to tell the ACLU, \u201cMind your own business and leave the driving to us!\u201d