"Failure to Obey" Documentary on Checkpoint Refusal

Did you know that if you are within 100 miles of an international border, including coastline, your 4th Amendment right is invalid? Border Patrol checkpoints have proliferated in the past decade and they are extremely unconstitutional. The only time in-country checkpoints were tolerated was in Nazi Germany and the U.S.S.R.

Pastor Anderson makes a point to stand up to this abuse every time he goes through these checkpoints in his home state of Arizona. But one night he left the checkpoint bloodied and beaten because he wouldn’t comply with unconstitutional demands.

I think Steven says it all in his description for his documentary.

This film documents the story of Pastor Steven Anderson beaten, tasered, and jailed for refusing a warrant-less search of his vehicle. The film also covers his trial and subsequent border patrol encounters.

According to current federal law, border patrol agents currently have the authority to stop and conduct searches on vessels, trains, aircraft, or other vehicles anywhere within “a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States.” This “reasonable distance” is defined as 100 miles from any border, including coastal boundaries.

In this 100-mile zone, the US Border Patrol has claimed certain extra-constitutional powers, such as, claiming the authority to operate inland immigration checkpoints.

In practice, Border Patrol agents routinely ignore or misunderstand the limits of their legal authority, violating the constitutional rights of innocent people. Although the 100-mile border zone is not literally “Constitution-free,” it is frequently treated as such by the Border Patrol.

As a result, two-thirds of the U.S. population, or approximately 200 million people, are potentially subject to detention and warrant-less searches by Border Patrol agents.