Get out, stay out: border patrol settles.

• Author: Ciaramella, C.J.
• Position: Citings - Brief article

After border patrol agents subjected a New Mexico woman to a series of unwarranted body cavity searches, she received a $475,000 settlement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Customs and Border Protection. 2012. The woman, a 54-year-old U.S. citizen identified only as Jane Doe, was returning to the U.S. on foot at El Paso's Cordova Bridge point of entry when a drug-sniffing dog "alerted" on her. Border agents then subjected Doe to a strip search. After finding no drugs, the agents transferred her to the University Medical Center of El Paso, where she was shackled to an examination table. Hospital staff performed rectal exams, stool samples, vaginal probes, and a CT scan on her without her con sent or a warrant.

After six hours, Doe was released and told she would have to sign a medical consent form or be billed $5,488 for the procedures...