Concord can and should refuse warrantless bus raids, says Maine ACLU

According to a public records request filed by the Maine American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), bus companies like Concord Coach Lines have the right to refuse warrantless bus raids by immigration agents.  The Maine ACLU and other New England ACLU affiliates are now calling on the bus company to protect its passengers and refuse searches from Customs and Border Protection agents.

Responding to an earlier letter from the national ACLU expressing concern over a slew of warrantless raids on Concord buses — one of which involved a company employee wrongly saying that only U.S. citizens could board a bus in Bangor — Concord President Harry Blunt said the company has “no control” over these raids since agents often show up unannounced.

But as a result of the public records request filed by the Maine ACLU, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection  agency unearthed training documents that indicate CBP agents usually require consent from bus companies to search or question bus passengers without a warrant.

“We don’t live in a ‘show me your papers’ society, and people shouldn’t have to prove their citizenship every time they want to ride the bus,” said Emma Bond, staff attorney with the Maine ACLU. “Concord should protect its customers and tell CBP to get a warrant.”

In a letter released this week, the ACLU argued that, given the training documents, Concord has “a choice to continue to allow immigration agents to board buses and search,” and that if they do they’re exposing their riders to potential racial profiling and invasions of privacy.

“Choosing to consent to these bus raids jeopardizes [Concord’s] paying passengers’ Fourth Amendment rights,” notes Bond and two other ACLU representatives who signed the letter.

(Top photo via Getty | Scott Eisen )