'What’s happening in Oregon reflects the long history of unprecedented police powers granted to federal border agents over what has become a far more expansive border zone than most Americans realize.' (via latimesopinion)
What’s happening in Oregon reflects the long history of unprecedented police powers granted to federal border agents over what has become a far more expansive border zone than most Americans realize. The Trump administration’s deployment of BORTAC units to suppress protesters in Portland should compel Congress to rein in the power of these militarized forces, which we have tolerated for far too long.
The original Border Patrol, the precursor of the CBP, was established in the 1920s. For many of its early years, it operated as a law unto itself, known for racial profiling and brutality. From the beginning, its agents fell prey to mission creep. Rather than confining themselves to the national boundaries in policing immigration and smuggling, they often pushed their patrols to strategic points many miles into the interior.
In 1953, the Justice Department unilaterally decided that this “reasonable distance” extended 100 miles into the interior from the international land borders with Mexico and Canada, as well as from the U.S.’ maritime borders. The repercussions of this decision have turned out to be profound. Today, nearly two-thirds of Americans — some 200 million — live in the 100-mile-wide zone overseen by CBP, which encompasses nine of the nation’s 10 largest cities as well as several entire states, among them Hawaii, Florida, New Hampshire, Michigan, Connecticut and New Jersey.
President Trump’s recent actions risk collapsing this already questionable distinction between the interior and the exterior for border policing purposes. During the protests in Minneapolis-St. Paul after the killing of George Floyd in late May, the CBP used a
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