By: Daniel Nardini
Before I say anything else, I should explain that the Olympic Peninsula is an island-like peninsula in Washington state that has a water border with Canada. It is not an island because it is not separated from the state. The residents there are U.S. citizens and can go to Canada by ferry or boat very easily. After September 11, 2001, then U.S. President George W. Bush put a growing number of U.S. Border Patrol agents at strategic locations along the U.S.-Canada border. One of these points is the Olympic Peninsula. The purpose of the U.S. Border Patrol, as has been the case along the U.S.-Mexico border, is to search for undocumented and interdict illegal traffic in illicit drugs, guns and possibly “terrorist” activity. However, unlike many parts of the U.S.-Mexico border, which include vast stretches of barren desert and wilderness, the Olympic Peninsula has many rural and urban communities within easy reach of each other.
This has led to serious confrontations between U.S. Border Patrol agents and Olympic Peninsula residents. On the U.S.-Mexico border areas, the chances of a group of people or a vehicle in a virtual no-man’s land is cause for suspicion. On the Olympic Peninsula, vehicles come and go all the time. U.S. Border Patrol agents, in their endeavor to find “illegals” or deal with other possible “suspicious” activities, have been stopping, questioning and even threatening Olympic Peninsula residents for several years about their legal immigration status. Finally, many of the Olympic Peninsula residents have had enough. A number of them have filed a major lawsuit through the American Civil Liberties Union in federal court over U.S. Border Patrol tactics of stopping and threatening Olympic Peninsula residents.
The lawsuit alleges that the U.S. Border Patrol has violated the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by stopping at random U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents without due cause. and that agents should be carefully trained to know how to stop cars or anyone if they have due cause. Doing anything at random is against the law, and the lawsuit will most likely go forward to block U.S. Border Patrol activities in this capacity. I hope it does. Many Olympic Peninsula residents are getting tired of these rough-armed tactics of the U.S. Border Patrol. Many have complained they feel a whole lot less safe around them. Whatever tactics the U.S. Border Patrol may use in some areas of the country do not always work in other areas. The Olympic Peninsula is one of them. I hope that this lawsuit teaches the U.S. Border Patrol, or any U.S. government agency, that they have to work within the confines of the U.S. Constitution no matter what the circumstances.
Fear on the Olympic Peninsula
By: Daniel Nardini
This has led to serious confrontations between U.S. Border Patrol agents and Olympic Peninsula residents. On the U.S.-Mexico border areas, the chances of a group of people or a vehicle in a virtual no-man’s land is cause for suspicion. On the Olympic Peninsula, vehicles come and go all the time. U.S. Border Patrol agents, in their endeavor to find “illegals” or deal with other possible “suspicious” activities, have been stopping, questioning and even threatening Olympic Peninsula residents for several years about their legal immigration status. Finally, many of the Olympic Peninsula residents have had enough. A number of them have filed a major lawsuit through the American Civil Liberties Union in federal court over U.S. Border Patrol tactics of stopping and threatening Olympic Peninsula residents.
The lawsuit alleges that the U.S. Border Patrol has violated the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by stopping at random U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents without due cause. and that agents should be carefully trained to know how to stop cars or anyone if they have due cause. Doing anything at random is against the law, and the lawsuit will most likely go forward to block U.S. Border Patrol activities in this capacity. I hope it does. Many Olympic Peninsula residents are getting tired of these rough-armed tactics of the U.S. Border Patrol. Many have complained they feel a whole lot less safe around them. Whatever tactics the U.S. Border Patrol may use in some areas of the country do not always work in other areas. The Olympic Peninsula is one of them. I hope that this lawsuit teaches the U.S. Border Patrol, or any U.S. government agency, that they have to work within the confines of the U.S. Constitution no matter what the circumstances.