Martinez-Fuerte held that internal checkpoints were
considered to be a functional equivalent of a border crossing only
if the government could prove with reasonable certainty that
traffic passing through was international in character and would be
comprised of only a “negligible number of domestic travelers.”
The Border Patrol’s Inspector’s Field Manual governing internal
checkpoints has been public information since 2008, thanks to a
successful FOIA request from immigration attorney Charles M.
Miller. According to Section 18.7 of the manual, before an
inspector may constitutionally detain a traveler at a non-entry
checkpoint, the inspector “must have reasonable suspicion that the
person is an alien and is illegally in the United States.” The
manual goes on to say: “This higher degree of suspicion arises
generally in questioning persons encountered in and around the port
who are awaiting persons referred to secondary. This suspicion is
based on questioning of alienage alone and also involves specific
articulable facts, such as particular characteristics or
circumstances which the inspector can describe in words.”
If, according to the CBP’s guidelines, inspectors shall not
indefinitely detain a traveler without at least reasonable
suspicion, the collection of videos online clearly shows agents
breaking their own rules.