US v. Martinez-Fuerte is a 1976 Supreme Court case in which the court held seven to two
that the Border Patrols' establishment of fixed interior checkpoints do not violate
the 4th Amendment, which protects from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Interior checkpoints existed for decades before US v. Martinez-Fuerte, but this was a case
involving what are called fixed interior checkpoints, as opposed to roving checkpoints.
And a question was whether the establishment of these checkpoints ran afoul of the 4th Amendment.
The Supreme Court in some other cases, had considered whether a warrant was required,
or probable cause was required for the searching of vehicles.
But Martinez-Fuerte dealt explicitly with the establishment of these checkpoints, whether
it was constitutional for Border Patrol to ask people driving on the roads whether they're
US citizens, or, and questions similar to that.
At checkpoints, Customs and Border Protection area allowed to ask a simple questions, like,
"Are you a US Citizen?"
And if they're not satisfied with the answer, or they suspect something suspicious, they're
allowed to pass, or direct the vehicles to secondary inspection, where more invasive
questioning can take place.
If Border Patrol wants to search a vehicle in secondary, they need probable cause, a
warrant, or the consent of the driver.
In Martinez-Fuerte, the US Supreme Court actually explicitly mentioned that referring some drivers
to secondary because of perceived Mexican ancestry did not violate the 4th Amendment.
This was criticized by Justice Brennan, who wrote the dissent in the case.
The majority though, said that the majority of cars that go through these checkpoints
are never referred to secondary, and that actually, we shouldn't worry too much about
the discriminatory impact that that might have.
The government argued in Martinez-Fuerte, that these fixed internal checkpoints did
not run afoul of the 4th Amendment, because, uh, the checkpoints were reasonable, they
did not unduly impact on driver's privacy, intrude into their lives, and that such checkpoints
were necessary to secure the border from contraband.
Martinez-Fuerte and the other people involved in the case, uh, argued that these checkpoints,
uh, did violate, uh, the 4th Amendment.
In this case, these checkpoints were not actually at the border, but on highways in California.
The idea here, being that, actually, the Border Patrol's in position away from the border
did violate the 4th Amendment's right to be secure in your person's houses, papers, and
effects against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Some of the most concerning aspects of these kind of checkpoints is the area in which they're
allowed to operate.
Thanks to statute and regulatory interpretations, CBP has the authority to set up permanent
fixed checkpoints within 100 miles of the US borders.
That includes the Northern border, the Southern border, as well as the East and West coasts.
Now, 100 miles from that, those areas includes some of America's largest cities, such as
Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and entire states, uh, much of New England
and the entire state of Florida is included in this area.
Studies reveal that the majority of people arrested at these checkpoints are not in fact
illegal aliens, but either legal residents, or American citizens.
And that these checkpoints are more effective at enforcing drug laws than they are immigration
violation.
And some might applaud the fact that these checkpoints catch illegal drugs, but it's
worth emphasizing that the point of these checkpoints is to apprehend illegal immigrants,
and those smuggling human beings.
CBP also has numerous authorities when it comes to international arrival airports, which
are scattered all across the United States.
The best argument, I think that the government has in cases like these, is that it's very,
very difficult to inspect vehicles at the border, that a lot of contraband is smuggled
in using vehicles, and that these stops are not actually as intrusive as many people seem
to think they are.
Because some of these checkpoints are established on roads not far away from the border, they
can be highly confident that these cars must have come from the border.
There aren't many roads in a lot of these places.