Quote:
Originally Posted by Kali Yuga
It should also be fairly clear that the 4th Amendment hasn't been suspended in all of Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, etc. Illegal searches are not being reinstated en masse because of this policy, which by the way has been found constitutional by the Supreme Court.
If this is a policy Americans don't want, then we should try to get rid of it. That doesn't justify hyperbolic claims about the policy.
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The 4th amendment has indeed been suspended in some ways (those that follow under the DHS regulations) in all those cities. DHS is not currently prioritizing those cities for executing their policies. The 100-mile thing is for the Border Patrol - the ICE agents can operate everywhere in the US.
People often think of the border as a line, and it is, for some purposes. For DHS purposes, the border extends well back into US territory. I imagine they are hoping to find intelligence jackpots on someone's hard drive. (Intelligence on illegal drug or other smuggling, or terrorist operations. Maybe even illegal immigration, but that's probably less vital to them.)
If they find purchased but de-DRMed e-books on my PC or tablet, I guess they can bust me if they want to. I doubt they are looking now, but if they win the drug war, slow illegal immigration to the extent they want to, and terrorism becomes a non-issue, maybe things like software or books or movies or music will move up the list of things they'll grab you for.