Maine ACLU Calls on Cyr Bus Line to Prevent CBP Agents From Interrogating Passengers on Immigration Status

The ACLU of Maine is calling upon the owners of Cyr Bus Line to end its practice of allowing U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents to board buses in order to interrogate customers regarding their immigration status without a warrant.

[RELATED: Biden Admin to Maine: Get Ready for Busloads of Migrants]

In a Wednesday press release, the Maine ACLU alleged that CBP is taking advantage of a Cyr Bus Line rest stop in Houlton, in order to inspect Cyr buses with drug-alert dogs and conduct blanket interrogations of all customers.

In letters to Cyr Bus Lines on June 1 and 21, the ACLU outlined the purported abuses by CBP agents, and urged the company to adopt policies similar to that of Concord Coach and Greyhound Lines, both of which prohibit CBP agents from boarding their buses to conduct warrantless immigration checks.

“CBP is already overstepping its legal authority by regularly boarding Cyr buses, coercively interrogating [its] passengers, and handcuffing and detaining passengers if they choose to exercise their legal right to not answer. But CBP’s new practice of using drug-alerting dogs to search all Cyr passengers’ luggage represents an even more egregious violation of passengers’ basic civil rights,” wrote Carol Garvan, legal director for the ACLU of Maine, in the June 21 letter.

The ACLU of Maine tells the story of two Presque Isle residents, Jade Hopkins and Robert Kipp, who are frequent users of Cyr Bus Line’s daily service.

On a trip in October 2021, two CBP agents stationed themselves outside of the Cyr bus while it was making a routine stop in Houlton, and asked passengers if they were U.S. citizens.

According to the ACLU press release, Hopkins and Kipp were asked by the CBP agents if they were U.S. citizens.

Hopkins asked if she was legally required to answer, and a CBP agent said yes, so Hopkins and Kipp told the agents they were citizens.

After this incident, Hopkins and Kipp researched the practice and decided that they would not answer questions from CBP agents on future trips.

“We want Cyr Bus Line to do what Concord Coach and Greyhound have both done: Deny CBP access to their buses unless they have a warrant. No one should be subjected to  suspicion, intimidation, coercion, and detainment just because they chose to ride the bus. We don’t live in a show-me-your-papers country,” said Robert Kipp.

Both Hopkins and Smith say that they have regularly witnessed Cyr drivers instructing passengers that federal agents would board the bus, and that the passengers should answer their questions — which they both refused to do, and were often met with resistance.

“I want to live in a country that upholds its values and treats people with fairness and equality under the law. We must hold authorities and institutions of power to account when they fail to serve the people, and we must push back when unjust, pointless, and unlawful acts are carried out – particularly when done by those in charge. Rights are important. You need to exercise them and keep them strong so they are ready when you need them,” said Hopkins.

On Nov. 25, 2022, Hopkins and Smith were detained by CBP agents after refusing to answer their questions.

Hopkins and Smith say that they told a CBP agent that they were exercising their constitutional right not to answer, at which point the agent threatened to remove them from the bus if they did not answer.

Smith asked the agent what reasonable suspicion the agent had to justify the detainment, to which the agent said that it was a “U.S. immigration inspection.”

Two CBP agents then handcuffed Rob and Jade, forced them off of the bus, and then forced them provide identification.

When Hopkins and Smith produced their drivers’ licensees, the agents removed their handcuffs and allowed them to leave.

“We urge Cyr Bus Line to bar Customs and Border Patrol from entering its buses without a warrant,” said ACLU of Maine Legal Director Carol Garvan. “They are allowing intrusions on their passengers’ fundamental civil rights. The best way to keep Cyr passengers safe and free from harassment is for the company to take action.”

Cyr Bus Line did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ACLU press release.

A CBP spokesperson gave the following statement on the importance and justification of their enforcement actions:

“For decades U.S. Border Patrol agents have routinely engaged in enforcement operations at transportation hubs and highways throughout the nation. Enforcement actions away from the border are within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Border Patrol and performed in direct support of immediate border enforcement efforts and as a means of preventing smuggling and criminal organizations from exploiting existing transportation infrastructure to travel to the interior of the United States. These operations are vital to the U.S. Border Patrol’s national security efforts.”

CBP Spokesperson

“Section 287(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1357, states that immigration authorities have the authority, without a warrant, within a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States, to board and search for undocumented noncitizens in any vehicle. Additionally, in 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed U.S. Border Patrol’s authority to lawfully stop vehicles, without suspicion, at checkpoints away from the border to determine the citizenship of its occupants, finding that such checkpoints are consistent with the Fourth Amendment (United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. 543, 1976 and United States v. Rubio Rivero, 917 F.2nd 1271, 1990).”

CBP Spokesperson

Two Supreme Court decisions have confirmed CBP agents’ authority under federal immigration law to conduct searches of travelers in and around ports of entry into the U.S.

In United States v. Martinez Fuerte (1976) the Court held that Fourth Amendment rights against warrantless searches were balanced against the governmental interest in stopping illegal immigration.

The court ruled that minimal intrusions existed to travelers passing through the occasional check point, “even in the absence of reasonable or individualized suspicion.“

In United States v. Gordo-Marin (1980, the Court found that this principle applied to permanent and temporary check points.

These principles have also been used to justify temporary DUI inspection points.

Information on the CBP website says the following about inspection procedures near ports of entry:

CBP officers must determine the nationality of each applicant for admission and, if determined to be an alien, whether or not the applicant meets the requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act for admission to the United States. CBP officers may, unfortunately, inconvenience law-abiding citizens in order to detect those involved in illicit activities. We are especially aware of how inconvenient and stressful the inspection process may be to those selected for inspection. In such cases we rely heavily on the patience, understanding, and cooperation of the traveler.

This article was updated to include a statement from a CBP spokesperson.