The U.S. Department of Justice has ordered the DEA to cease searching passengers at airports, following an Inspector General’s investigation showing that the people doing these searches – which often led to confiscation of cash from travelers without any charges being filed – lacked proper training and kept insufficient documentation, leading to a likelihood of committing constitutional rights violations.
The decision to stop “consensual encounter” airport searches (and searches at other transit hubs) was made a little over a week ago, but the report was only just released today, highlighting a decade of abuses including the strong suggestion that the DEA was performing these searches for the purpose of seizing funds for its own use.
In a 10-year period, the DEA seized over $4 billion in cash, the vast majority of which was unconnected to any criminal charge.
Searches will now only be allowed if connected to an ongoing criminal investigation or approved under exigent circumstances by the DEA Administrator.
I’ve written about civil asset forfeiture at airports before, and even served as an expert witness in a case against the practice. The DEA frequently targets minorities so they’ve stopped tracking race. Police records though contain data showing 56% of jetbridge stops are of black passengers, while 68% are minorities.
- The government seizes cash without charging anyone with a crime.
- Then the victim has to prove the money wasn’t used in a crime to get it back. There’s a byzantine process for doing this, and usually the victim has to enter into a partial settlement to get anything back at all, which includes a promise not to sue.
- And the way this is all structured, the agency seizing the money gets to keep part of it for themselves.
Even just flying Atlanta to Los Angeles is enough for a stop and seizure, because passengers are flying from ‘one known drug location’ to another. The government considers one way tickets suspicious, even though airline pricing practices have changed so that it often makes more sense to book one ways.
Ultimately it’s important to know that even though it is your right, it’s a good idea not to carry large amounts of cash with you at the airport. It’s subject to confiscation. And if you’re carrying more than $10,000 out of the United States, you need to register that with the government – not just with the country you’re carrying it into.
More on civil asset forfeiture, from Last Week Tonight:
That took too damn long to happen! And while that’s great going forward, they really need to make it right for every penny of that $3.2B plus interest. I still don’t understand how this was ever legal, and why the ACLU wasn’t on it like white on rice.
Now it’s Hertz’s turn to get hauled into court, slapped silly, and forced to compensate all the customers they had falsely arrested. Would love to see some C-suite jackholes do a little time, maybe count up the hours and days everyone who was arrested spent in custody and make that part of the deal.
Having to prove your money isn’t going to be used for nefarious purposes is a violation of the 5th amendment, period. Federal law enforcement always gets away because of mega funding and very rarely will the executive oval office will intervene on such matters.
A first step. Now stop local law enforcement from stealing.
I’d prefer it if SCOTUS put a stop to the practice, not the violators themselves.
thus if the law enforcement agency seizing the money gets to keep part of it for themselves.
iS THAT NOT A BRIBE?
Most people have a plan, such as to buy a car, house down payment, or to pay for business expenses but have little documentation.
I carry at most $300, $1000 on international trips, but have no documentation for the money.
I’ve declared carrying more than $10,000 in traveler’s cheques internationally before at LAX. It is a pain to find the office and if I remember correctly, they were closed for lunch. Fortunately I had enough time in my schedule to deal with it.
“Don’t touch my junk”
its just another bullet point in the list of law doesn’t apply to those in charge. it’s good someone in Government noticed what was happening, yet, it doesn’t appear anyone was corrected for their behavior.
@Katie, I’m with you on this.
A nice parting gift from the Biden Administration to Americans whom should be free from unwarranted searches and seizures. And civil asset forfeiture is an anathema to the rule of law, to the presumption of innocence unless and until otherwise proven guilty in a criminal court, and to the idea that people should be secure in their property rights absent due process to the contrary. Unfortunately, the US’s civil asset forfeiture thinking has already infected the world. As of earlier this month, Sweden started having civil asset forfeiture; and now if a person in the country — even a visitor — can’t show they have paid taxes in Sweden and have sufficiently taxed income in Sweden to show the Swedish police that they could acquire the property with income or assets declared in Sweden, the police can just take your property even in the absence of an arrest on criminal charges. Talk about criminal.
Civil asset forfeiture is a crime against human liberty due all people due the presumption of innocence in a court of law.
Agents knew what they were doing should have a theft investigation. lock them up
I love that I live in a known drug location. Party!!!
Thank God for Biden. Of course chomo 47 will try to change it back to make his fake law abiding friends happy
Sounds like Seward County, Nebraska. Cops there stop out of state drivers and if they have a wad of cash on them, they tell the driver to relinquish the cash or face arrest. With no evidence or reason that the driver has done anything wrong. Several drivers have had to fight like hell to get their cash back. Seward County and its Sheriff’s Department have been the subjects of several investigations.
Good that they were catching drug losers for so long
Nick, hopefully one day you will be wrongfully accused of something and be able to understand how big of a problem that unlawful search and seizure is in this supposed free country.
And as soon as Trump gets in the office he will undo all of it.
Mafioso style criminal enterprise run by the Don himself, Joe Biden. Drain the swamp!
Ok, so DOJ tells DEA to stop doing this in November 2024, and in Feb 2025 it’s open season on travelers with cash again. You know they’ll start it up again. They need to raise $2 Trillion to pay for the next tax cut.
This isn’t a Biden administration invention. Without doing any research at all, it smells like “war on drugs” era.
Sadly, “Bedtime for Bonzo” was the last actual Republican, the party of Lincoln.
The Biden DOJ once again showing that they don’t care about our protected rights or the Constitution. The people who had their money seized need to sue.
Not all people travel with credit cards. I’m old school..ex Flight Attendant… cash only..
Never trust the TSA..or pax on flights… People steal everywhere now..So sad
@GUWonder
It’s the Biden Administration that was doing this and they didn’t stop until they were caught doing it. It’s incredible how you ‘people’ want to praise Biden for fixing something or stopping his administration from violating peoples’ rights, when he’s the one who broke the thing and greenlit his administration to violate those rights in the first place.
So StrongArm robbery is cool, you just need a badge&gun. I understand it now
It cracks me up on how well our media has convinced us that all the countries we don’t like and sanction are corrupt and we need to spread to them our form of government.
As a Muslim American, I know very well how these people can be. It’s obvious she shouldn’t have flown with that money. We have been pulled aside and interrogated (even my 9 yr old son!!)on suspicion of TERRORISM for crying out loud. The TSA (and apparently now the DEA, which I don’t have experience with) is known to overstep its bounds and commit these arbitrary acts of exploitation. Its a well known fact.
The govn’t just was caught red handed by inocent white Christian Americans, that’s why there’s a stink being made about this now. It’s very old news, unfortunately.
DEA should be abolished. Start over with something better. These creeps are the reason for many problems including prescription drug shortages. An awful agency wielding power they should not (and often do not) have.
Been happening for decades for drivers from border states to/from large northern cities. Local LEs are Federalized and act on behalf of the US Gov. They of course get their cut. If you have much cash on you, you are given a choice. Arrest or forfeit. Most people pay the ‘arrest avoidance fee’. If you try to contest the forfeit later, you risk charges being filed against you. Only those with really good lawyers should try to contest. It gets hard to defend yourself on criminal trafficking charges and trying to get your money back at the same time.
Word of advice, don’t travel with very much cash. If you are pulled over don’t piss them off because they will tear your vehicle apart or just seize your vehicle and leave you stranded. Remember, you are standing between them and their bonuses.
So many stories and videos on YouTube of over reach by the DEA and civil violations. Unfortunately I too have experienced that, but it was US customs doing the dirt.
I was flying one was from ORD to DXB because like you said, booking different flight legs can be financially incentive.
We were stopped boarding the Emirates flight actually on the jetway before you got on the plan and they inquired about how much cash we are carrying and wanted to see our passports. We were singled out along with other passengers( I am Asian and the others looked middle eastern) we made it through the gauntlet of questions , but unfortunately, some others did not. I didn’t know what happened to them, and if they even caught their flight.
Yes, Katie on November 21, 2024 said it right. I haven’t read the rest of the comments, but that’s my smart read for the morning.
I add, never remove or enforce self-removal of belts which are sometimes more than or not a style accessory, shoes which can expose unpleasant odors or hats which can hold hair or cover missing hair, nor touch to discover if small buckles under clothing are small buckles, do remove the wands and and be quick at having people walk through a security system which can not actually show a detailed view of the body but can detect metal or other objects which are not supposed to be there, and do leave all items in front and in sight of passengers without touching them, as in passengers are not ordered to turn around and can only lose sight of things while they pass under an X-Ray sensor on a belt, no digging, dumping out or enforcing dumping out items unless it’s found necessary, with wallets and other items staying on passengers, only looked at in the hands of passengers if causing an alarm. And suitcases checked at ticket booths need to be left closed, left locked if locked unless there’s a problem and not tossed or crumpled under the weight of other suitcases and cargo, it’s placed nicely and packed in as can be per strength and weight of those kinds of payloads, plus put onto and then removed from the airplanes their passengers are flying on with transfers handled properly from one plane to another to ensure final destinations are met by passengers and their suitcases, lost luggage means an investigation starts every time from where the suitcases are checked to where the suitcases are supposed to arrive for pickup.
We do have difficulties with some people who may fly with the general public, it’s time to get at them early on and not let known problem people into or onto any public spaces, that may lessen the needs and worries where people congregate and where safety is important including during air travels.
This is happening right now at this very moment in upstate South Carolina. It’s called Operation Rolling Thunder. Several different fed agencies, local cops, out of county cops, and out of state cops in unmarked Nissan Maximas, trucks, suvs, Chargers, Challengers, marked police cruizers, and aieral units have a short stretch of interstate flooded 24hrs a day until probably Sunday or Monday(7 days is normal). It’s all done under “interstate crime prevention” but it’s a cash grab that results in hundreds of “suspect” vehicle stops and searches, a few arrest(less than a dozen)some drugs, several hundred tickets issued (most are following to close, speeding, or failure to maintain lane,ex “drifting”)and always loads of “illegal” cash stolen.
The aieral units repeatedly fly up and down this stretch of interstate for 18-20hrs a day “scanning” for “target” vehicles. Private Passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, busses, and Uhauls are magically picked off and not surprisingly most of those vehicles have “illegal” cash in them.
Great fictional movie on Netflix about this exact topic. Worth a watch: Rebel Ridge
I should also add to my comment (that’s waiting for approval) for the sheriff that allows this Operation Rolling Thunder has a yearly salary of over $200K yet has racked up over $50k on a tax payer funded credit card for personal expenses.
https://www.postandcourier.com/spartanburg/news/spartanburg-sc-sheriff-chuck-wright-credit-card/article_bab19db8-6f82-11ef-8761-9bcccd6f4019.html
I travel loads for coaching.domestically and Internationally. And now this all makes sense and my anger was. Is justified.
I would love to sue because this always seemed like harassment. Flight after flight after flight.
The corruption was not the passeneger but the U.S. Government agency that is supposed to protect American citizens not bully them.
@ various MAGAots
So, the article _clearly states_ this states it is covering abuse over a 10 year period. So no, you clowns cannot blame President Biden, who is putting a stop to it.
But what Cheeto had 4 years, sat on his ass, and did nothing? Oh yah! President Trump! Mr “inject bleach” to cure COVID.
President Biden, thank you for your service, and G-d Bless you.
I fly alot never been approached by Dea
@Robert, tell us you’re part of the MAGA cult without telling us you’re part of the MAGA cult. Civil asset forfeiture got its start with the “war on drugs” push started by your buddy Ronald Reagan and his lovely wife Nancy back in the early ‘80s. We’ll wait for your apology for trying to throw Biden under the bus.
@Marie: Why were you crying out loud?
SUSPICIOUS!
JK
Good news but local police agencies abuse asset forfeiture more often than the DEA. Asset forfeiture sounds fine but allowing law enforcement to keep the proceeds a and placing the burden of proof on the citizen has had terrible consequences.
Ain’t it just like the crooked dea to jack people of there money just because it’s going one way to a place doesn’t mean that they did something illegal to get last time I checked the constitution states that you are innocent until proven guilty this just sounds like the dea is stealing from people
@Robert
The Investigation was a decade long so it started when the Orange Clown was in office. Not Sleepy Joe. Not that either of them did anything that effected anyone I know in a good way they both did what everyone before them did &will do help out the top 3%
I don’t understand why it always turns into a
Democrat or a Republican argument both sides
SUCK ARSE equally and neither give 2 Craps about the anyone that works 60 hours a week that hopes to Retire by 70 and have a few years to look back at what they’ve accomplished and enjoy what they have worked so dam hard for
Hey dum dums, if this started a decade ago that would have been under Obama. Trump did not stop it and neither did Biden.
Well I’m not shocked you know my kid was arrested by DEA in Sacramento sheriff’s department and there was so much missing in that apartment I’ve watched videos on officers loading up their shirts hiding things money cash all that I’m not shocked this is how the justice system is allowed them to run
SGTBob your wrong but the liberals always be negative angry n full of hate??
Folks, for those of you debating whether Trump or Biden is to blame for this.. Modern civil asset forfeiture dates to the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, and to reforms in 2000.
Seizures shouldn’t be done unless tied to a criminal enterprise. I am now retired, but if I arrested a drug dealer with drugs and he had a large amount of cash, I seized it as part of his drug dealing. This was the intent and was our departmental policy.
@1MISANTHROPE You’re the clown with that comment. Just compare the value of 401(k)s when Trump was in office vs Biden. With Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act the lower earning/middle class Americans benefited the most!! He literally beefed up the standard deduction amounts, added in the QBI deduction which helps a ton of people who own businesses and it phases out for earners over about $400k, he called the state and local income tax, real estate tax deductions to $10,000! Single digit percentage of tax payers filed Schedule A itemized deductions and the ones that do are the high earners, before Trump, these high earners especially in places like California and NYC were literally deducting the income taxes, real estate taxes and other state taxes from their income on their Federal tax returns but Trump put a cap to only be able to deduct $10,000 now!! I am a senior tax accountant in NYC for 16 years and I’ve personally seen how the higher earners have been paying more taxes while the middle class and lower earners were paying much less taxes especially the ones with children who get the additional child tax credit!! For example, I have a hedge fund quant client who receives a $5 million to $10 million W2 from his job living in NYC, before the tax cuts and jobs act he was deducting $600,000+ of the NYS and NYC income taxes on his federal tax returns, now after Trump’s $10,000 cap what do you think happens with that $600,000+ he used to deduct? It’s income now and he’s paying tax on that $600,000+ that he used to be able to deduct!! How in the hell is he helping the rich and top 3%, 1% etc by cutting out tax benefits for them? It’s simple he’s not helping them!! If you can’t see how much he actually cares about people just by in his eyes let alone anyone who’s met him in person with no cameras saying he’s one of the nicest people you’ll meet then idk what to tell you… All I know is Trump told them and the world in 2016 “I don’t want your money and I don’t need your money and I’m the only one who can say that up here” and of course all those donors shut their mouths. Trump was never beholden to anyone like the prostitutes we call politicians on our country so it’s pretty stupid to claim he’s for the rich especially when it was all of the top 1% who were against him using their money and media and connections to try and destroy him!! I also find it hilarious that you think Trump didn’t do anything for you it just seems you didn’t notice how good the country was with him and you were worrying about other things!!
I’m surprised no youtuber has videoed themselves getting pulled over with 10k of fake cash lol.. Just to see the look on the agents faces when they take it then don’t give it back then once they realize its not real but “party cash” and the fact that they got caught…
I guess people don’t know that a decade ago was under the Obama administration and not Trump.
Welcome to your facist nation. When will the rest of you cop loving idiots realize your entire governments law enforcement apparatis is this vile and evil?