Customs and Border Patrol agents block I-95 in Maine, question people about citizenship
Customs and Border Patrol (image courtesy US Government)
BANGOR, Maine (Fox 32 News) - Customs and Border Patrol officers set up an 11-hour blockade on an interstate in Maine and refused to let people pass without answering questions about their citizenship, the New York Times reported.
The newspaper reporter that Border Patrol agents closed all southbound lanes of I-95 and demanded that drivers and passengers prove their citizenship.
“Operations of this type are within the jurisdiction of the Border Patrol and performed in direct support of immediate border enforcement efforts,” Steve Sapp, a spokesman at Customs and Border Protection, told the New York Times, “and as a means of preventing smuggling organizations from exploiting existing transportation systems to travel to the interior of the United States.”
The CBP can legally work within 100 miles of the US border. The NY Times said this area covers 200 million Americans and fully covers at least 11 states.