Do you live in a border zone?

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

ODDS ARE, IF you're reading this in the United States, you live within a zone where U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have the right to stop you and ask if you're a U.S. citizen or resident.

The Immigration and Nationality Act gives the CBP authority to operate without a warrant within a "reasonable distance" of the U.S. border. In 1953, the Justice Department defined "reasonable distance" as 100 miles--a number that has never been revisited since, even though it means a huge chunk of the country is now a "border zone" where U.S. citizens can be stopped and questioned.

While a...