Judge declines to dismiss ACLU challenge of border patrol checkpoints

A lawsuit brought by multiple chapters of the ACLU that challenges the constitutionality of Border Patrol checkpoints on Interstate 93 in Woodstock, will proceed, following a federal judge’s order Thursday that declines the government’s motion to dismiss the case.

The New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont ACLU chapters filed the suit in 2020, alleging the routine staging of checkpoints nearly 100 miles from the international border by Customs and Border Protection agents amount to “general crime control and interdiction” rather than the enforcement of immigration law. They contend that CBP agents unlawfully search vehicles, a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

U.S. Attorneys representing CBP asked the court to dismiss the case, citing a lack of planning for future checkpoints, and the unlikelihood that the named plaintiff in the case, Jesse Drewniak, an avid fly fisherman who routinely travels on I-93, would be stopped in a future checkpoint.

In a 35-page opinion, Judge Landya McCafferty rejected the government’s argument, though she did dismiss an individual CBP agent from the matter.

Drewniak, of Hudson, was stopped in 2017 while returning from a fishing trip in the White Mountains. Drug sniffing dogs discovered a small amount of marijuana in the vehicle, but criminal charges were dropped in state court after a judge ruled the evidence was gathered in violation of the New Hampshire Constitution.

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Drewniak’s federal lawsuit alleges he suffers from ongoing emotional distress from the incident. The ACLU is asking for an injunction to prevent Border Patrol agents from staging checkpoints that are aimed at drug arrests rather than immigration enforcement.

Border Patrol staged eight checkpoints, some that lasted for multiple days, between 2017 and 2019 in New Hampshire. Under federal regulations, Border Patrol agents can stage checkpoints within 100 miles of international borders, which includes nearly all of New England.

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