Border Patrol: Man refuses to answer immigration status at checkpoint, halts traffic

By Special to the Times
Published: Thursday, May 16, 2013 11:24 AM CDT

Border Patrol agents assigned to the Laredo North Station arrested a motorist Sunday who allegedly kept them from stopping and question him at the I-35 checkpoint.

The incident occurred Sunday morning, when agents assigned to the Laredo North IH-35 checkpoint encountered a male driver of a tractor-trailer approaching the primary lane.

The agent asked the driver for his immigration status, but the male driver refused to answer, according to a spokesman. The subject was referred to secondary inspection in order to allow other commercial traffic to be inspected. The driver refused and turned off his truck, obstructing the flow of commercial traffic.

The driver, identified as a 37-year-old male from Laredo, was placed under arrest and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for alleged violations of federal law.

“Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and subsequent Supreme Court decisions have established the authority for United States Border Patrol checkpoints. Anyone impeding agents’ ability to carry out their duty of securing our nation’s borders, including their duty at checkpoints, will be subject to arrest and prosecution,” said Robert L. Harris, CBP Commander for the South Texas Campaign.

To report suspicious activity such as drug and/or alien smuggling, contact the Laredo Sector Border Patrol's toll-free number at 1-800-343-1994.

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