There are three different kind of checkpoints in California. Redrock and this driver, is mixing them up, from what I can see.
1. Border checkpoints at the Mexico border.
2 Agricultural Inspection checkpoints at all major highways coming into the state from other states. There is one north of Bishop on US 6 at NV border and a I'd be willing to bet there is one on 395 south of Reno, tho I have never been on that road.
3 Finally, there are Border Patrol checkpoints scattered around at random usually 50-100 miles inside the Mexico Border. These are usually fabric Quonset type structures out in the middle of nowhere. It looks like they are trying to catch those that might have relaxed somewhat, thinking they are safe since they would be quite a ways from the border at this point. They have cameras and sensors all over for several miles before you get there. Turning around would attract quite a bit of attention I imagine.
The inspection station in the video looks like the BUG checkpoint on I-80 by Truckee, California in Nevada, Co. Ca, just starting westbound, up Donner.
I've seen these same types of videos at the random border checkpoints, I think this guy was trying to use that type of defense at the Agricultural checkpoint. (Truckers call them BUG checks, they look at your BOL's but cars mostly get a cursory any produce, fruit, unvaccinated pets have a good day. I've seen them close them down and let traffic roll when there are bad accidents. I doubt they've found any contraband fruit in 30 years.
The #3 type of Border Checkpoint I go through on a regular basis hauling produce out of Southern California and Arizona. I neither left the country, nor tried to come back into the country, nor wanted to or tried to. I might have been less than a mile FROM the border, and once in a while maybe a quarter mile or less. There is usually an officer of Hispanic descent that asks in broken English to state your citizenship and if there is anyone in the sleeper. At night they will make you turn on the sleeper lights and wake up your co driver if you have one, to hear him talk? I'm white, from Wisconsin and sound like a typical Midwest truck driver. I've had the drug dog on my steps and walk around my vehicle. I carry a firearm in a locked box, unloaded in my sleeper, in CA. Never there more than 2 minutes. They are looking for drugs, illegal aliens, and terrorists, and sadly if they suspect any of those three you for the most part have no constitutional rights, from what I can tell. DOT trucks fall under a slightly different set of rules than your typical family coming back from vacation. Do a search on the constitution free zone.
I think this guy saw som videos of people at these random checkpoints, and thought he was going to pull that at the Agricultural check point. He really wasn't up on his stuff, if he was going to make that stand he shouldn't have to be reading it off his phone. Nothing I've said here should be interpreted to be that I agree with any of what California or our Government is doing. I'm just trying to clear up what I think is some confusion in this post. I don't live in CA but I do travel there on a regular basis.
