noworldsystem.com

Lee Rogers
Rogue Government
August 4, 2008

The Department of Homeland Security more popularly known as the Department of Homeland Enslavement has now come out and stated that they have the authority to confiscate people’s personal property including laptops, electronic devices and even paperwork at the border without any probable cause. They also claim that they can hold those items for an unspecified period of time. All of this they claim is justified under the guise of fighting terrorists. It doesn’t matter that thousands of illegal aliens are entering the country from Mexico unchecked. No, instead the Department of Homeland Security thinks its more effective stealing the property of U.S. citizens to keep us safe from terrorists. Any member of the Department of Homeland Security that takes the property of a U.S. citizen without a warrant should immediately be charged with theft. Of course, in this insane world we live in, that will never happen and the people who conduct this activity will probably be given some sort of freedom medal. This is just another case of the government taking a big dump on the Fourth Amendment which at this point is non-existent.

Before getting into the policies themselves, here is the text of the Fourth Amendment.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The government cannot search and seize an individual’s property unless they obtain a court order that can only be issued based upon probable cause. Keep that in mind, as we analyze the Department of Homeland Security’s policies.

The following is taken from a Washington Post piece covering these policies:

Federal agents may take a traveler’s laptop or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed.

Also, officials may share copies of the laptop’s contents with other agencies and private entities for language translation, data decryption or other reasons, according to the policies, dated July 16 and issued by two DHS agencies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This policy is obviously illegal as it is not in accordance with the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, which makes this policy null and void. What’s really insane, is that they claim they have the authority to share the data on these electronic devices with anyone they want for any specific purpose. It is bad enough that these clowns say that they can take laptops and electronic devices without any probable cause, but they also claim that they can take people’s papers including books, pamphlets and written materials. The insanity of this is unparalleled.

Also from the Washington Post report:

The policies cover “any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form,” including hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover “all papers and other written documentation,” including books, pamphlets and “written materials commonly referred to as ’pocket trash’ or ’pocket litter.’ “

How can the Department of Homeland Security declare that they have these powers when it is clearly not in accordance with the Constitution? There needs to be an investigation into the criminals that drafted these policies. They should start the investigation at the very top with the Skeletor look-a-like Michael Chertoff who as head of the agency has willingly implemented all sorts of illegal policies and programs under the guise of this phony terror war.

Again from the Washington Post report:

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff wrote in an opinion piece published last month in USA Today that “the most dangerous contraband is often contained in laptop computers or other electronic devices.” Searches have uncovered “violent jihadist materials” as well as images of child pornography, he wrote.

Even if you believe Chertoff’s claims on contraband and believe the bogus terror war is real, it doesn’t warrant the Department Homeland Security going on fishing expeditions. Assuming the false reality of the terror war is real, one has to question’s Chertoff’s sanity considering that he is focusing more of the government’s resources on seizing people’s laptops and personal property with no probable cause than stopping illegal aliens entering the United States unchecked from Mexico. Wouldn’t it be more likely that a terrorist would try to come into the country undetected instead of going through border checkpoints? This is especially true, considering that there is militarized combat and drug trafficking taking place frequently on the U.S.-Mexico border. Of course, Chertoff doesn’t care about any of that.

The bottom line is that the terror war is not real and everything Chertoff is implementing is designed to enslave the American people. People are more likely to die in a car accident or in a swimming pool than from an act of terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security should be abolished and at the very least, Chertoff and his minions should find their way to unemployment lines. This policy of seizing people’s personal property is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment, and the people who are responsible for drafting and implementing this policy need to be put in prison.

Be sure to check out these other articles analyzing this illegal search and seizure policy by the Department of Homeland Security.

Detroit Free Press: Leave My Laptop Alone

Information Week: All Your Laptops Belong To Us

Ron Paul has sponsored legislation designed to require border agents to have “reasonable suspicion” to search the digital equipment of a traveler entering the United States.

Paul said his legislation would force Department of Homeland Security agents to have at least reasonable suspicion that a person has engaged, or is about to engage, in criminal activity before they can search a traveler’s digital equipment. Currently, he pointed out, federal officers can search or seize a traveler’s laptop computer, Blackberry or other electronic device without cause.

That, Paul said, is unconstitutional.