Tag: border patrol

The Fourth Circuit Says Border Agents Can Search Your Phone By Hand, No Suspicion Required

The Fourth Circuit issued a disappointing opinion in U.S. v. Belmonte Cardozo, a case in which EFF filed an amicus brief, alongside the national ACLU, its Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia affiliates, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL).

We argued that electronic device searches at the border should require a warrant based on probable cause, but at minimum, regardless of whether an officer searches by hand or with forensic software that plugs into a device and downloads its entire contents for search, the same Fourth Amendment standard should apply to all device searches at the border.

Unfortunately, the court rejected that argument and ruled that a lower standard applies to manual searches, allowing the government to conduct extraordinarily invasive electronic device searches without any suspicion of wrongdoing, simply because the border officer chooses to search by hand rather than with a forensic tool.

The Border Search Exception Meets Your Phone

The Fourth Amendment requires that government searches of persons or property be reasonable, which usually means obtaining a warrant based on probable cause from a judge.

But a warrantless search can still be reasonable if it falls within an exception to the warrant requirement, including the exception that allows officers to search your belongings at the border. The border search exception allows warrantless searches of persons or property crossing the U.S. border, including the functional equivalent of the border such as international airports, given the government’s interests in controlling who and what may enter the country.

Historically, courts have categorized border searches of luggage, vehicles, and personal effects as “routine” and thus reasonable even if conducted without any suspicion that the traveler has engaged in wrongdoing; courts have also held that more invasive “nonroutine” searches, such as certain body searches and searches that damage property, require reasonable suspicion.

But a person’s privacy interests in the personal data on a phone or laptop are extraordinarily different than their limited privacy interests in the contents of their suitcase.

Keep reading

House passes GOP’s $70B border security and immigration bill

The House of Representatives officially passed a roughly $70 billion budget reconciliation package on Tuesday, securing a major legislative victory that guarantees three years of dedicated funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Clearing the chamber in a razor-thin 214–212 party-line vote, the enforcement package bypassed traditional filibuster hurdles in the Senate through the reconciliation process, effectively cementing long-term fiscal resources for enhanced border operations, detention center expansions, and thousands of new field agents.

Having now successfully cleared both chambers of Congress following an intense final hour of floor debate, the spending bill officially heads to President Trump’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law.

Keep reading

Trump Admin Threatens to Pull MASSIVE Federal Contract From 7-Eleven After Radical Leftist Employee Denies Service to US Border Patrol

The Trump administration is demanding answers from one of the largest convenience store chains in the world after U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and multiple federal agents were reportedly denied service at a 7-Eleven–owned Speedway gas station in Minneapolis late last month.

According to a letter obtained by Fox News, Michael Lynch, Deputy Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA), formally contacted 7-Eleven Chief Operating Officer Doug Rosencrans requesting information about any internal investigation into the now-viral January 21 incident.

The letter reportedly warned that the company’s lucrative federal partnership could now be in jeopardy.

Speedway locations, which operate under 7-Eleven ownership, currently accept the GSA SmartPay Fleet Card, a government-issued payment system used by federal agencies including the Department of Homeland Security to purchase fuel and authorized vehicle maintenance for official operations.

In his letter, Lynch raised serious concerns:

“As 7-Eleven, Inc./Speedway LLC locations accept the GSA SmartPay fleet card for fuel and other authorized purchases on behalf of Federal fleets —i ncluding those operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — these actions raise concerns about the ability of Federal vehicle operators to access necessary fuel and services at convenient locations.”

The reported refusal allegedly included both in-store purchases and fuel transactions, potentially interfering with mandatory procurement protocols for all non-tactical federal vehicles leased through the GSA Fleet program.

According to the GSA’s own website, the Fleet Card is accepted at roughly 95% of fuel stations nationwide, making reliable access to participating merchants operationally critical for federal enforcement missions across all 50 states.

Keep reading

US Customs and Border Protection supervisor arrested, charged with harboring illegal immigrant

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection supervisor was arrested and charged with harboring an illegal immigrant, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

CBP supervisor Andres Wilkinson, 52, allegedly had an illegal immigrant woman, with whom he was in a romantic relationship, and her child living with him, the Justice Department said Wednesday. Wilkinson had worked at CBP since 2001 and became a supervisor in 2021.

The woman allegedly initially entered the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa in August 2023, then overstayed authorized travel. 

Law enforcement learned that an illegal immigrant was residing at Wilkinson’s residence without legal authorization, according to the criminal complaint.

Authorities surveilled Wilkinson’s residence from June through November 2025, and observed the illegal immigrant living there with Wilkinson and her child, according to the charges. She was also observed using vehicles registered to Wilkinson, court documents allege.

Investigators interviewed the woman in February 2026, and she said she had been living with Wilkinson since August 2024, according to the criminal complaint. Wilkinson allegedly provided her with financial support in addition to housing, such as credit cards, help with financial obligations, and access to his vehicle. He also allegedly transported her through U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints. 

Wilkinson allegedly traveled with her to San Antonio. 

If convicted, Wilkinson faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. 

Keep reading

Senior Customs and Border Protection Official FIRED and Marched Out of Office for Leaking Sensitive, Personal Information to the Corporate Media

A high-ranking immigration official committed an unforgivable betrayal of his personnel and is paying the price.

As Fox News reported , the Department of Homeland Security announced they had fired a senior Customs and Border Protection official on Thursday for leaking sensitive, personal information about CBP personnel to the corporate media.

The CBP official also allegedly leaked details of negotiations over the border wall to the press.

A DHS spokesperson called the official’s conduct “abhorrently dangerous” during an interview with Fox News.

“As DHS law enforcement faces an 8000% increase in death threats, leaking law enforcement sensitive information is abhorrently dangerous,” the spokesperson told the outlet. “DHS is agnostic about your standing, tenure, political appointment, or status as a career civil servant — we will track down leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”

The official, who has not been named, was marched out of his CBP office in Washington, D.C.

This disturbing news comes as ICE and CBP officers have been doxxed by at least 13 database systems that store data, including Signal.

Fox News notes that this includes personal information, photographs, uniform details, behavior patterns, and phone numbers.

As TGP’s Cassandra MacDonald reported, one Signal group chat has exposed deep ties between Democrat officials, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and radical anti-ICE activists in Minneapolis.

The private messaging group, called “MN ICE Watch,” has allegedly been used to coordinate protests, issue marching orders, and even dox federal ICE agents during the ongoing protests and riots in Minneapolis.

The group has also created a database of license plates for vehicles used by ICE agents, and people can call in to check plates in the database.

FBI director Kash Patel has announced that his department is investigating these messaging chats.

The doxxing is not just limited to chat groups, either. Last month, a Minnesota reporter assisted in the doxxing of an ICE agent who killed leftist activist Renee Good in self-defense. The agent is now in hiding.

It is certainly possible that the fired CBP official participated in the doxxing of this agent.

Keep reading

Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting

The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.

The records viewed by ProPublica list Ochoa, 43, and Gutierrez, 35, as the shooters during the deadly encounter last weekend that left Pretti dead and ignited massive protests and calls for criminal investigations.

Both men were assigned to Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement dragnet launched in December that sent scores of armed and masked agents across the city.

CBP, which employs both men, has so far refused to release their names and has disclosed few other facts about the deadly incident, which came days after a different immigration agent shot and killed another Minneapolis protester, a 37-year-old mother of three named Renee Good.

Pretti’s killing, and the subsequent secrecy surrounding the agents involved, comes as the country confronts the consequences of President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown. The sweeps in cities across the country have been marked by scenes of violence, against immigrants and U.S. citizens, by agents allowed to hide their identities with masks — an almost unheard of practice in law enforcement. As a result, the public has been kept from one of the chief ways it has to hold officers involved in such altercations accountable: their identity.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called for a transparent investigation into the killing of Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse working at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.

Keep reading

Border Patrol’s Greg Bovino Pulls Out the Receipts to Debunk Fake News Narrative

Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino detailed two recent cases in Minneapolis involving individuals who crossed the U.S. border unlawfully, highlighting what he described as the downstream consequences of border enforcement failures and the impact on local communities.

Speaking about the first case, Bovino described an individual charged with cocaine trafficking and a controlled substance violation, identifying the suspect as someone who had entered the country illegally without being apprehended at the border.

“Charged with cocaine trafficking and a controlled substance violation. This is an interesting one, because this individual was what we would term, term as a golf, which is a gotaway across the border,” Bovino said.

“This individual crossed the border and was a golf, a gotaway, more than likely, over those past four years when we had millions crossing the border unabated, this is what we get in our communities.”

Keep reading

Far-Left Portland Police Chief CRIES Over Two Tren de Aragua Gang Members Who Were Shot After They Tried to Run Over Border Patrol Agents

Far-left Portland Police Chief Bob Day cried over two Tren de Aragua gang members who were shot after they tried to run over Border Patrol Agents.

Federal agents shot two people in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday afternoon.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the driver and passenger were affiliated with Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

“At 2:19 PST, US Border Patrol agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon. The passenger of the vehicle and target is a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and involved in a recent shooting in Portland,” the DHS said.

“The vehicle driver is believed to be a member of the vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents,” the DHS added.

“Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene. This situation is evolving and more information is forthcoming,” the agency said.

The two gang members were wounded and transported to a local hospital.

On Friday, Portland Police Chief Bob Day had to fight back tears as he admitted the DHS was right about the officer-involved shooting.

“They do have some nexus to involvement with TDA. We can confirm that,” Bob Day said as he fought back tears.

Chief Day admitted he didn’t want to disclose there was a gang affiliation with the two shot by Border Patrol.

“I want to speak for just a moment, specifically to my Latino community,” Day said.

“It saddens me that we even have to qualify these remarks because I understand or at least have attempted to understand your voices, your concern, your fear, your anger,” Day said as he wiped away tears.

“This information, in no way, is meant to disparage or to condone or support or agree with any of the actions that occurred yesterday,” Day added.

Keep reading

Shooter opens fire at Border Patrol agents in Chicago, feds confronted by rowdy mob

Authorities are searching for a man who allegedly opened fire Saturday on Border Patrol agents in Chicago.

The shooter was behind the wheel of a black Jeep when they fired off the shots near 26th Street and Kedzie Avenue, as the agents conducted immigration enforcement operations on the city’s Southwest side, the US Department of Homeland Security wrote on X.

Agitators also hurled a paint can and bricks at the agency’s vehicles during the incident. 

Chicago cops cleared the scene, and the shooter remains at large.

Keep reading

Appeals Court to Lefty Judge and Her Insane Border Patrol Ruling: Lady, You’re Not Doing This Right Now

A federal appeals court ruled that a lunatic judge’s ruling for the Border Patrol can be ignored at this time. Judge Sarah Ellis decided that she had appointed herself the chief of operations for immigration enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security with her silly ruling about mandatory body cameras for ICE agents. On this ruling, she ordered Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino to meet with her daily. Luckily, the Seventh Circuit put the kibosh on that, at least for now (via CBS News).

A federal appeals court granted a request from the U.S. Department of Justice for an administrative stay pausing an order that requires Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino to meet in person with Judge Sara Ellis each day.

Judge Ellis ordered the meetings after a hearing on Tuesday in federal court over alleged violations by Bovino and other federal agents of her temporary restraining order largely prohibiting the use of tear gas and other riot control measures on journalists, protesters and clergy during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. 

In response to numerous filings regarding violations of that order, Ellis instructed Bovino to meet with her every weekday evening to go over the events of the day until a preliminary injunction hearing on Nov. 5. 

In their filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, lawyers for the government argue the order “far exceeds the recognized bounds of discovery” and “significantly interferes” with Bovino’s function, which the government argues is “ensuring the Nation’s immigration laws are properly enforced.” 

They also argue the meetings are “untethered to the plaintiffs’ underlying claims” and go beyond reasonable necessity to comply with the court orders already in place.

Keep reading