Border Patrol agents are caught on camera unlawfully stopping and threatening a U.S. citizen at a gas station, with zero legal basis.
In the video, a Border Patrol agent approaches a man who is simply pumping gas into an unmarked vehicle and immediately demands, “Let me see your ID.”
The man correctly responds, “I don’t have to show it to you.”
Instead of stating any lawful reason for the stop, the agent escalates and asks, “How do I know you’re a U.S. citizen?”
That question alone exposes the violation.
The man is wearing normal clothing, committing no crime, not crossing a border, not driving, and not suspected of anything. There is no traffic stop, no reasonable suspicion, no probable cause, and no legal authority to demand proof of citizenship in this context.
So, what the agent is really saying is this:
If you don’t look white enough, you must prove you belong.
That is racial profiling. It is unconstitutional. And it is illegal.
The agent then issues a threat: “This can go two ways. I can take you in, or you show me your ID.”
That is not a choice, it’s coercion.
Faced with the threat of unlawful detention, the man is forced to hand over his identification, surrendering his rights under duress.
This is exactly how constitutional rights are stripped away, not by law, but by intimidation.
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2011102789946978304/vid/avc1/1280x720/9FkBwwWvBsVwHCaK.mp4
The irony is, we hand over our ID everyday to provide proof for a personal check, to deposit or withdraw at the bank, to use a credit card in a store, to confirm we are the patient in question at hospitals and clinics, to register for college classes or student financial aid, to take out loans and a whole lot more. So yes, it is giving up a right to the agent, but how different is it now in practice to giving up that right to everything else in modern society? I get the legal point, but in practice, we hand out or ID freely to everyone else.