Semiautomatic Gun And Rifles Seized At Port Of Entry. ESL reporterette?

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LEO, the argument being made here is that they were arrested on U.S. soil for something that is not a violation of U.S. law. None of the firearms are illegal in the U.S., and method of transport is entirely up to the user.

The article said they were stopped on the Stanton St. bridge in El Paso. If they were actually on the bridge, they had already passed the CBP checkpoint, so I suspect they were actually arrested at the checkpoint itself.

The circumstances do make a case that they intended to export firearms without the required permission from the Department of State. But, the firearms and manner of possession were not otherwise illegal in the U.S.

What if this stop had been made at an interior CBP checkpoint, which can be up to 100 miles from the border? (Yes, you can be required to clear CBP while driving entirely within the U.S., without ever leaving the country.)

This boils down to a "time, place, manner" case, because what they were doing would not have been arrestable otherwise.

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imperialism2024 wrote:

I think some of us may have a different perspective if the day ever comes when we find ourselves in a country where guns are all but banned. Those smugglers might not seem so evil after all...

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Are the alleged smugglers Patriots or bad guys? I guess that depends on your point of view.

Were they breaking U.S. Law or Mexican Law. They were arrested in the U.S. I know the response, they were gun smugglers, but I just don't see a crime. If they were hiding stolen property then there was a crime. Hiding guns under shingles is not breaking any law.

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If there was a crime here, it was a violation of Mexican law for trying to smuggle the guns into Mexico. The method of transporting was legal in the USA, i.e., unloaded, secured outside the passenger compartment and/or not readily available. The guns were legal in the USA except for the .50 semi-auto being banned in California but the method of transport should have covered that under the Gun Owners Bill of Rights. The purchaser was with the guns so he hadn't yet completed the alleged straw purchase; the guns were still his and in his possession.

So, what I'm wondering, is why the USA BATFE arrested this guy. Why weren't the Mexican Federales tipped off and allowed to arrest the smugglers on THEIR side of the border, take them to a Mexican jail, try them under Mexican law, and let them serve time in a Mexican prison?

The way this was conducted smells more like a publicity campaign to justify more USA firearms purchase surveillance and ownership registration laws.