[arkem]

I had an experience with a border patrol checkpoint in Arizona in 2009. I was driving from Yuma, AZ towards Vegas (probably on US-95) in a rented brown Prius with Washington state plates as I was flagged down by the border patrol.

At the checkpoint the officers looked at me with disinterest (probably a combination of the dull routine and because I looked like a white US citizen). First they asked me if I was a US citizen and I said no, and suddenly they were looked far more interested. They asked to see my passport and informed me they'd need to search my vehicle and I was to open the trunk. I complied, opening the trunk and passing my passport to one officer while the other went to the rear of the vehicle to start a search. A few seconds later the officer with my passport notices something and urgently signals the other officer. At this point I was worried that my paperwork must not be in order and that I was in trouble. Once the other officer rejoins the first they briefly confer and then they hand me back my passport and apologize profusely for the inconvenience saying that they didn't realize that I was a diplomat before sending me on my way.

The kicker is that I wasn't a diplomat, merely a bureaucrat on an official trip to the US and any "diplomatic immunity" I had was the thinnest kind of intergovernmental courtesy.

At first this story was funny to me as the time I accidentally wielded diplomatic immunity. However, more recently I find it less amusing as instead I consider it a tale about how the changing assumptions of the officers significantly affected the nature of the interaction and how different the interaction could have been if their assumptions had been less favorable.

[avar]

I don't understand how you think the officers in question did anything wrong.

I'm not American, so I have no stake in defending the US border patrol, but this is what I'd expect border patrol anywhere in the world to do. Their entire job function is to prevent illegal entry, toll violations etc.

By your own account you were in possession of a valid passport clearly indicating that you're working in an official capacity for a foreign state. Why would border patrol anywhere in the world continue to detain you at that point?

Is there some illegal immigration problem in any country on Earth stemming from people in possession of official government passports indicating that they work for their respective states that I'm unaware of? How is this not as clear of a signal as anything short of the agent personally recognizing you as a foreign ambassador that you should be sent on your way?

[arkem]

I don't think that the officers did anything wrong.

I didn't like that the officers only decided to search my vehicle after they knew I wasn't a US citizen and then abandoned the search once they saw my visa but I don't think that these decisions exceeded the discretion that the offices are authorized to use during a stop.

I also didn't like that the officers made me uncomfortable and nervous during the stop but again I don't think the officers were acting inappropriately. It's on me that even with my government background I get nervous interacting with officials in situations like this.

I guess if anything my complaint is that I would prefer that border patrol checkpoints only stop people who are in the process of crossing a border rather than random highway checkpoints (in this case I was probably an hour away from the border) and if you are stopping people without reasonable suspicion or probable cause I'd prefer that the same stop procedures be applied to everyone.

[DrScump]

Not to defend any rudeness on their part, but that route is an infamous one for smuggling, so higher scrutiny of an out of area vehicle is not a huge surprise.

[mikestew]

Their entire job function is to prevent illegal entry, toll violations etc.

To me, one of the key elements of the story is this: getting from Yuma, AZ to Las Vegas, NV does not involve crossing an international border. So this level of harassment a few hours drive from an actual border seems a bit uncalled for.

[SamReidHughes]

It's a lot easier to have checkpoints at the chokepoints outside of the metro region, because all the illegals and smugglers have to pass through them at some point. There's too much surface area to defend in Yuma proper.

[stickfigure]

It's "a lot easier" to set up video surveillance in everyone's home, but we don't let the state do that either.

[SamReidHughes]

I'd say there's a trade off to be made. If we didn't have any illegal immigration or smuggling, obviously it would be unreasonable. On the other hand, if we had a million professional gang members entering each year via various tunnels into Yuma, it would be reasonable to put checkpoints on the outside of the city to help curb the problem. Or evacuate the city and nuke it from orbit.

[Asooka]

Technically, airports are borders, so if he did drive close to an airport, he was in the border zone.

[digi_owl]

> and how different the interaction could have been if their assumptions had been less favorable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Watts_%28author%29

"In December 2009, Watts was detained at the US/Canada border by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) performing a reportedly random search of the rental vehicle he was driving."

Note BTW that he was at the time leaving USA after having crossed over from Canada with no incident.

"...According to Watts, he was assaulted, punched in the face, pepper-sprayed and thrown in jail for the night."

"...Watts blogged about his sentence saying that because of how the law was written, his asking: "What is the problem?" was enough to convict him of non-compliance."

[DrScump]

I generally decline rental vehicles with out-of-state plates (meaning of a state that is no part of my trip). It brings unwanted scrutiny from LEOs and thieves alike.