Great Idea or Civil Rights Violation in Disguise?
A Right That Shall Not Be Violated
The 4th Amendment to the Constitution states that
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and noWarrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
This amendment is often summarized as a protection against illegal or unreasonable search and seizure. A recent decision by Judge Edward Korman, a US District Judge serving the Eastern District of New York, tests that right by potentially pushing the issue of National Security right over the line of Civil Rights Violation.
Judge Creates a 100 mile Zone
Judge Korman was appointed to the Court in Brooklyn, NY by President Ronald Reagan on November 4, 1985 and has had a long and prosperous career. Read More Here.
In a Fox News article dated January 13, 2014 Korman endorsed the “suspicion-less” search of personal electronic devices such as cameras, laptops, and cell phones at points of entry along the US Border and at checkpoints located up to one hundred miles away from the border.
This ruling is in direct conflict with a similar ruling out of California with a prerequisite for “reasonable suspicion” of criminal activity prior to confiscation and search of the aforementioned electronic devices.
The American Civil Liberties Union has raised concerns about the issue. They voiced their concern at a National Level via their Fact Sheet on U.S Constitution Free Zone, which addresses the ambiguity of the definition of a border.
Searches are taking place at Points of Entry but, according to the ACLU Fact Sheet,
“These stops by Border Patrol agents are not remaining confined to that border security purpose. On the roads of California and elsewhere in the nation – places far removed from the actual border – agents are stopping, interrogating, and searching Americans on an everyday basis with absolutely no suspicion of wrongdoing. The bottom line is that the extraordinary authorities that the government possesses at the border are spilling into regular American streets.”
Since September 11, 2001 we have become more fundamentally aware of the threats we face both from within our own borders and from foreign countries.
An NBC Article gives evidence of Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda influence in South America recruiting Islamic militants to plan and execute attacks within the US, while seemingly every Iranian Imam and Wahhabi Cleric calls for our execution on a daily basis.
The Slippery Slope
Factor in a White House administration that is doing everything in their power to keep the borders open and unprotected and we have a recipe for disaster. While it is essential to conduct these searches to identify known and unknown threats at our border, these “Constitution-Free Zones” create a slippery-slope with terrifying potential to be exploited. While most of us understand the need for security measures, we have seen countless examples of Executive and Legislative actions that not only contradict National Security, but seem to actively sabotage it. How many more of our rights are we willing to sacrifice in the name of National Security?
“You cannot possibly have a broader basis for government than that which includes all the people, with all their rights in their hands, and with an equal power to maintain their rights.” William Lloyd Garrison
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