Know Your Rights: Immigration Agents on Buses

The government has asserted that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers may operate immigration checkpoints anywhere within 100 miles of the external boundary of the United States. With its 600 miles of border shared with Canada, Maine is a hotspot for these types of checkpoints.

CBP officers routinely board passenger buses without warrants, questioning passengers about their citizenship and travel plans. In many cases, agents will demand to see passengers' "documents." The ACLU argues that these warrantless raids are a blatant disregard of passengers' constitutional rights. We also assert that cooperation between bus operators and CBP is not required; in accordance with court decisions stemming from the Fourth Amendment, bus companies may deny CBP permission to interrogate passengers aboard a bus with a warrant or probable cause.

However, many bus operators still allow agents to board their buses and harass passengers. If this happens to you, know that you have rights.

Open the yellow menus below to learn more about your rights as a bus passenger.

Know Your Rights in motion:

Watch our video series to know your rights when interacting with ICE in English, Español (Spanish), اُردُو (Urdu), العَرَبِيَّة (Arabic), Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole), Pусский (Russian), 普通话 (Mandarin).

WATCH VIDEO SERIES

If an agent questions you about your immigration status

A.If an agent questions you about your immigration status

You have the right to remain silent or tell the agent that you’ll only answer questions in the presence of an attorney, no matter your citizenship or immigration status.
You do not have to answer questions about your immigration status. You may simply say that you do not wish to answer those questions. If you choose to remain silent, the agent will likely ask you questions for a longer amount of time, but your silence alone is not enough to support probable cause or reasonable suspicion to arrest, detain, or search you or your belongings.
***A limited exception does exist: for people who do have permission to be in the U.S. for a specific reason and for, usually, a limited amount of time (a “nonimmigrant” on a visa, for example), the law does require you to provide information about your immigration status if asked. While you can still choose to remain silent or decline a request to produce your documents, people in this category should be aware that they could face arrest consequences. If you want to know whether you fall into this category, you should consult an attorney.

If an agent wants to search or detain you

A.If an agent wants to search or detain you

Generally, an immigration officer cannot detain you without “reasonable suspicion.” Reasonable suspicion is less robust than probable cause, but it is certainly not just a hunch or gut feeling. An agent must have specific facts about you that make it reasonable to believe you are committing or committed, a violation of immigration law or federal law. If an agent detains you, you can ask for their basis for reasonable suspicion, and they should tell you.
An immigration officer also cannot search you or your belongings without either “probable cause” or your consent. If an agent asks you if they can search your belongings, you have the right to say no.
You have the right to record video of immigration agents as long as you don't interfere with them.