Constitution-Free Zones Are Not a ConspiracyBy Bauer Marshall While this may seem antiquated to some politicians, the aforementioned amendment is still under attack, especially with the concept of Constitution-Free Zones. Before, I expound upon the foundation of Constitution-Free Zones, the following video should give some insight to the topic. With this in mind, lets now get down to the nitty gritty. I know the phrase seems archaic, given the fact Im 31-years-old, but bear with me. In December of 2013, District Judge Edward Korman, finally made his ruling, after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a law suit in 2010 on behalf of Islamic Studies student, Pascal Abidor, then 29-years-old. Abidor was sitting in the trains cafe car when an officer forced him to take out his laptop then ordered Mr. Abidor to enter his password, the suit claimed. The computer contained images of Hamas and Hezbollah rallies and the agents, unmoved by Abidors assertion the images were related to his studies, handcuffed the young man and kept him detained for three hours, questioning him numerous times. The ACLU, claimed that border officials should have a reasonable suspicion before shifting through someones personal files. However, Judge Korman ruled, that the area 100 miles inland is a border exemption. Laptops have only come into widespread use in the twenty-first century. Prior to that time, lawyers, photographers, and scholars managed to travel overseas and consult with clients, take photographs, and conduct scholarly research, wrote Korman. As one can expect, the ACLU was livid regarding the ruling. Were disappointed in todays decision, which allows the government to conduct intrusive searches of Americans laptops and other electronics at the border without any suspicion that those devices contain evidence of wrongdoing, ACLUattorney,Catherine Crumpshe said. While this seems shocking, it should really come as no surprise, given the last 15 years of policy making by Congress and Presidents Bush and Obama. Here is the actual map of what critics call Constitution-Free Zones, which can be viewed on the ACLUs Web site. In 2009, the DHS, one of the responsibilities of which is securing our borders, stated it would conduct a Civil Liberties Assessment into its policy of suspicionless search-and-seizures of electronic devices. While the assessment was originally supposed to be delivered in around 120 days, it actually took three years of waiting before the review was issued. We also conclude that imposing a requirement that officers have reasonable suspicion in order to conduct a border search of an electronic device would be operationally harmful without concomitant civil rights/civil liberties benefits, the executive summary stated. The suspicionless search-and-seizure policy began in 2008 under the Bush administration. In that year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency under the umbrella of the DHS, declared CBP had the right to search laptops, electronic devices and printed material of any traveler (U.S. citizen or non-citizen) at the border, absent individualized suspicion. So far the same policy is being continued under President Barack Obama. Between 2008 and 2010, 6,500 persons have had their various electronic devices searched. With the Fourth Amendment, you might logically think they would be legally protected from such searches. Sadly, you would be wrong, since the protection does not apply to the border and could actually stretch 100 miles inland, because of a Constitution-Free Zone, as the American Civil Liberties Union refers to it. A great video to watch on this is Border Patrol (100 miles from the border), which is embedded below: There should be a reasonable, articulate reason why the search of our electronic devices could lead to evidence of a crime, Catherine Crump, an ALCU staff attorney said. Thats a low threshold, said Crump. This is a civil liberties watchdog office. If it is doing its job property, it is supposed to objectively evaluate. It has the power to recommend safeguard to Americans rights. The office has not done that and the public has the right to know why, Crump said. According to the ACLU, The Constitution-Free Zone of the United States, encompasses all borders affecting 197.4 million people. Here are some more cases, such as the one above, where the Customs and Border Protection overreached. Between 2006 and 2010 in the Rochester, NY, area, approximately 300 immigrants with legal status were arrested by Border Patrol agents, then released. The arrests coincided with an incentive program that rewarded agents with cash bonuses and Home Depot gift cards based on the number of arrests they made. According to the ACLU of Arizona, in Tucson, community members report CBP agents entering courthouses and hospitals (including maternity wards) and approaching and interrogating hospital patients, motorists, and pedestrians. A patient at University of Arizona Medical Center was reportedly forced to deliver her child with a CBP agent in the room. CBP agents in Tucson regularly respond to calls to investigate from police, hospital staff, and school officials. These incidents often result from and encourage racial profiling of U.S. citizens and lawful residents. In April 2012, residents of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State filed a class action lawsuit challenging the Border Patrols practice of stopping vehicles and interrogating occupants without legal justification.CBP settled the lawsuit and agreed to require training for Border Patrol agents in the area on Fourth Amendment protections against illegal searches and seizures, and to provide the ACLU with data regarding all traffic stops that take place in the area for the next 18 months.These terms should be extended nationwide and data collected from CBP checkpoints as well as roving patrols. Lets hope this abuse of power is challenged and our right to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures are restored. One suggestion by the ACLU is this. As Ben Franklin once said, They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. The Problem Much of U.S. population affected Outdated Legal Authority and Lack of Oversight Part of a Broader Problem See the selfnews Post Constitution-Free Zone archive HERE You can read more from Bauer Marshall at his site falseempowerment, where this article first appeared. 