Democrats Oppose Border Patrol Highway Checkpoints on Peninsula

by Audrey Mei-Yee Tsui

The Jefferson County Democrats (Port Townsend to Hood Canal) have unanimously passed a resolution calling for suspension of expanded U.S. Border Patrol activity on the Olympic Peninsula. The Bush-era law allows for warrant-less Border Patrol activity anywhere within 100 miles of a US border or coastline.

"We acted in response to the establishment of random highway checkpoints and first-hand reports of Border Patrol surveillance of churches, farms, schools, stores, parks, neighborhoods, etc. — everything from boarding buses to carrying out ordinary crime control without respect for warrants or probable cause." says Matt Sircely, Chair of the Jefferson County Democrats. They are working to document incidents, along with indications that both racial profiling and quota-driven detentions are occurring.

The resolution states that the number of agents on the Olympic Peninsula has increased from four in 2006 to 25 today with projected growth to 125, and an expensive new facility in Port Angeles. This comes "at a time when basic government services such as K-12 education have been cut, long-term local public employees laid off, best practices abandoned for lack of funds, and local officials, the U.S Attorney and the FBI have expressed budgetary concerns." Sircely reports that "our county sheriff and city police chief have spoken eloquently in their denial of this federal funding. Virtually all of our local elected officials have expressed concern." There is concern that this expanded Border Patrol will also intrude into local law enforcement jurisdiction, hampering local agencies' crime control and community policing strategies which build long-term relationships of trust and accountability.

The Jefferson Democrats call for a suspension of expanded Border Patrol activity away from the border "until the utility, legality and constitutionality of the expansion has been determined by the Congress and the courts," and an evaluation of its opportunity-cost in light of governmental service budget cuts. The resolution calls on elected officials "to foster a reformed approach toward securing our border which focuses on interdiction at the border, preserves constitutional protections and respects local law enforcement," and urges local law enforcement to "continue to uphold their sworn oath to protect the rights and liberties of the members of our community."

Resolution Text