The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Thursday against the U.S. Border Patrol seeking to bar agents from making traffic stops, saying people are being pulled over and questioned for the way they look and without reasonable suspicion.
The lawsuit stems from tensions between immigrants and the expanded presence of Border Patrol agents on Washington state's Olympic Peninsula, which shares no land border with Canada.
"People are being stopped based solely on their appearance and ethnicity. This is unlawful and contrary to American values," said Matt Adams, legal director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, which also joined the lawsuit. "No one in a car should be stopped and interrogated by government agents unless the law enforcement officer has a legal basis to do so."
The ACLU and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project filed the lawsuit on behalf of three peninsula residents who have been stopped by Border Patrol agents.
Border Patrol spokesman Richard Sinks said U.S. Customs and Border Protection "strictly prohibits" profiling on the basis of race or religion.
"In determining whether individuals are admissible into the United States, CBP utilizes specific facts and follows the Department of Justice's 'Guidance Regarding the Use of Race by Federal Law Enforcement Agencies,'" Sinks said.
This Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010 photo shows Israel Ramos Contreras at Forks High School where he goes to school in Forks, Wash. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Thursday, April 26, 2012 on behalf of Ramos and two other plaintiffs, seeking to stop U.S. Border Patrol agents from conducting traffic stops in Washington state. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to bar traffic stops by border agents saying that people are being pulled over without reasonable suspicion. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes) CloseThe agency has said it is following its mandate to enforce the country's immigration laws and protect the border and shoreline from terrorists, drug smugglers and other illegal activity.
But one of the plaintiffs says Border Patrol agents stopped him numerous times, even though he's a U.S. citizen.
Jose Sanchez, a prison guard at Olympic Corrections Center in Forks, Wash., said agents have followed him home and questioned him when he's with his family. In one instance, they told Sanchez they were pulling him over because his windows were too dark, but they didn't ask for his car insurance or registration, the lawsuit says.
Another plaintiff is Ernest Grimes, a prison guard at Clallam Bay Corrections Center and a part-time police officer from Neah Bay, Wash. Grimes said a Border Patrol agent pulled him over last year. According to the lawsuit, the agent approached Grimes, who is black, with his hand on his weapon while yelling at him to roll down his window.
The agent provided no reason for the traffic stop while he interrogated Grimes about his immigration status, the lawsuit alleges. Grimes was wearing his guard uniform at the time.
The third plaintiff, 18-year-old Ismael Ramos Contreras of Forks, was with a group of friends when four agents pulled them over. The lawsuit says one of the agents tried to take the keys out of the ignition and interrogated the teenagers but never provided a reason for the stop. Ramos also was asked for his immigration status outside a courthouse in Forks.
"The Border Patrol's actions have created a climate of fear and anxiety for many people living on the Olympic Peninsula. The residents in this suit all are U.S. citizens who worry that they could be stopped and questioned without reason any time they drive or are passengers in cars," said Sarah Dunne, the ACLU's legal director.
The lawsuit says traffic stops by Border Patrol agents violate the Fourth Amendment and exceed the agency's legal powers. It seeks to bar such stops until agents are trained on what constitutes reasonable suspicion.
