How to handle Border Patrol checkpoint?

[alanwk]

I will be driving to Del Rio, Texas (close to the Mexican border) to visit my son who is stationed there and just returned from Iraq. I will be armed (I have my cc permit from OK) and if I remember correctly the Border Patrol only stops you on the way back north. The stop is about 25 miles from the border. They let the dog sniff around the car and just asked if we were US citizens and where were we headed? No driver license check. Do I have to (or should I) tell them I am carrying and have a permit? I want to do the right thing and avoid any problems.

 

[txinvestigator]

I will be driving to Del Rio, Texas (close to the Mexican border) to visit my son who is stationed there and just returned from Iraq. I will be armed (I have my cc permit from OK) and if I remember correctly the Border Patrol only stops you on the way back north. The stop is about 25 miles from the border. They let the dog sniff around the car and just asked if we were US citizens and where were we headed? No driver license check. Do I have to (or should I) tell them I am carrying and have a permit? I want to do the right thing and avoid any problems.

Legal issue; In Texas a permit holder is required to show his license and ID if a Peace Officer demands that the license holder identify himself. There is no penalty for not doing so, therefore it is pretty much moot.

That said, Border Patrol are not Peace Officers under Texas law, and you are not required to display to them.

 

[ducksps]

I've never had an issue. They all seem to be pretty nice folks and have never bothered to look in my vehicle. Of course I'm white as they come and very polite.

Normal custom is to visually inspect the passenger compartment looking for clues to nefarious intent. Once they sense all is well they tell you to have a good day and send you on your way. God knows they would shit if they popped the trunk. No telling how long it would take ATF to drive down and clear things up.

 

[45tex]

Made multiple trips to California in the last couple of years. IH-10 goes very close to the border. I enjoy wondering off the beaten path a bit too. Met quite a few Border Patrol officers in each direction. I found them to be courteous if not friendly and all around professionals. A great bunch. I never failed to thank them for their service to America.

The only assholes I met were the State Police of California and Texas. Both are uppity money grabbers. And before you think it was me speeding I received no tickets or worse, all you need to rate these thugs is the happenstance to be in their vicinity. If you venture into California be sure to lock away any weapons. I think they believe the sunshine causes them to come to life and turn fully automatic. A great number of the comrades in the state have been successfully brainwashed to be afraid to even speak of guns. Enough of ranting. The Border Patrol need not be feared by citizens. If the government has its way nobody will fear them.

 

[F350-6]

That 25 mile bit will throw you if you're not paying attention. Last time I left Harlingen and drove for a ways, I came up on the check point and thought I had turned the wrong direction and was at the border

When you pull up and stop, they'll ask if you're a US citizen. At this point, there's no need to mention anything. If they tell you to move along, then you're done. If they start asking you questions and ask you for your ID, then hand over the CHL at the same time.

As mentioned above, being polite is the right thing to do. Remember these guys have to ask the same question to every single vehicle that passes thru, every single day. They don't enjoy the process any more than you do.

 

[TxEMTP69]

Don't ask, don't tell...

They don't ask for ID, I'm not telling I have a gun

 

[jasont]

I've driven through the check points a dozen or so times, every single time the conversation went exactly like this:
BP: Are you a US Citizen?
Me: Yes, Sir.
BP: Ok, have a nice day.

 

[DCortez]

As mentioned above, being polite is the right thing to do.

I'd add be polite to everyone you meet, not just LE.


All I've ever been asked, as was everyone in the vehicle, is where am I from. After that, the big wave through.

 

[BurkGlocker]

After 5 trips to McAllen within a month we almost knew the BP agents by name, even joking that we were Texas citizens instead of US citizens. But mostly all they ever ask is if we were citizens and nothing more. And if youre traveling its legal to carry in your vehicle as long as the weapon is stowed and out of sight and that is per the lady at the DPS hub in Austin.

Ride safe and Rock on!

Brad L.

 

[txinvestigator]

The only assholes I met were the State Police of California and Texas.

More cop bashing based on personal opinion, and not on topic.

 

[txinvestigator]

If they start asking you questions and ask you for your ID, then hand over the CHL at the same time.

Why?

 

[txinvestigator]

And if youre traveling its legal to carry in your vehicle as long as the weapon is stowed and out of sight and that is per the lady at the DPS hub in Austin.

That is incorrect. Anyone can carry a handgun in their vehicle in Texas as long as these conditions are met;

1) handgun not in plain view
2) you are not prohibited by law from possessing a firearm
3) you are not a member of a criminal street gang
4) you are not committing a crime and the time. (traffic violations don't count)

Traveling is not part of the equation, and the weapon need not be "stowed" whatever that means.


In that case, there is no legal requirement to disclose to a peace officer that you are carrying. As I have already said, even with a CHL you do not have to disclose to a Border Patrol Officer, as he is NOT a Peace Officer under Texas law.

 

[Texas1911]

Follow the laws, be polite, and fight all your battles in court. That's all you need to know about dealing with the police, border patrol, etc.

 

[M. Sage]

If you venture into California be sure to lock away any weapons.

Not quite... Traveling in CA, all firearms must be unloaded, handguns need to be locked, though rifles don't need to be secured this way unless you're knowingly within 1000' of a school. Technically, outside that school zone an unloaded pistol carried openly is legal, but you can plan on getting proned out and arrested if you do it, especially since most police there are of the (mistaken) opinion that a loaded mag in possession equals a loaded gun (only does if you're a gang member). Note: Locking your pistol in the glove box or "utility compartment" (undefined under CA law or in any court case I know of) is illegal. Soft-side cases with a padlock holding it shut is fine. Seperate trunk is fine.

Just remember, in CA: Possession of tracers or incindiary ammo = felony. Importing (bringing into the state with you) an assembled magazine that holds over 10 rounds = felony - you can disassemble the mag(s) before the border and be OK.

Then there are the "assault weapon" laws that I don't even want to get into.

More cop bashing based on personal opinion, and not on topic.

I haven't had any issues in TX; I've actually been very happy about the professionalism of all the police I've met here. CA was a very different story, especially CHP... I really am not cop-bashing when I say that the police there have a much different attitude.

 

[BurkGlocker]

That is incorrect. Anyone can carry a handgun in their vehicle in Texas as long as these conditions are met;

1) handgun not in plain view
2) you are not prohibited by law from possessing a firearm
3) you are not a member of a criminal street gang
4) you are not committing a crime and the time. (traffic violations don't count)

Traveling is not part of the equation, and the weapon need not be "stowed" whatever that means.


In that case, there is no legal requirement to disclose to a peace officer that you are carrying. As I have already said, even with a CHL you do not have to disclose to a Border Patrol Officer, as he is NOT a Peace Officer under Texas law.

Well, someone took their 'holier than thou' pill today. I am relaying what the lady at the DPS told me, nothing more, nothing less, and in her interpretation, 'traveling' was part of the equation.

stow–verb (used with object) 1.Nautical. a.to put (cargo, provisions, etc.) in the places intended for them.b.to put (sails, spars, gear, etc.) in the proper place or condition when not in use.2.to put in a place or receptacle, as for storage or reserve; pack: He stowed the potatoes in our cellar. 3.to fill (a place or receptacle) by packing: to stow a carton with books. 4.to have or afford room for; hold.5.Slang. to stop; break off: Stow it! Stow the talk! 6.to put away, as in a safe or convenient place (often fol. by away).7.to lodge or quarter.

—Verb phrase 8.stow away, to conceal oneself aboard a ship or other conveyance in order to obtain free transportation or to elude pursuers.
Origin:
1300–50; ME stowen, OE stōwigan to keep, hold back (lit., to place), deriv. of stōw place; akin to ON eldstō fireplace, Goth stojan to judge (lit., to place)



Being a Marine, its hard to get away from the jargon, but if you cant keep up, my apoligies.

Rock on!

Brad L.

 

[DoubleActionCHL]

Well, someone took their 'holier than thou' pill today.

With all due respect, the issue is not about his "holier than though" pill. It's about accuracy. The Motorist Protection Act (2007), which consists of modifications to TPC Section 46.02, says nothing about traveling. It is very specific, as TXInvestigator explained. "Traveling" isn't a requirement, nor is it even mentioned. That is a common misconception based on an obsolete statute that mentioned the word "traveling" as a requirement, but never defined it. The result was a barrage of misinformation about unlicensed carry.

 

[BurkGlocker]

With all due respect, the issue is not about his "holier than though" pill. It's about accuracy. The Motorist Protection Act (2007), which consists of modifications to TPC Section 46.02, says nothing about traveling. It is very specific, as TXInvestigator explained. "Traveling" isn't a requirement, nor is it even mentioned. That is a common misconception based on an obsolete statute that mentioned the word "traveling" as a requirement, but never defined it. The result was a barrage of misinformation about unlicensed carry.

Well, then I concede and extend my apoligies... I was apparently answering out of context.

Rock on!

Brad L.

 

[Texas1911]

Well, someone took their 'holier than thou' pill today. I am relaying what the lady at the DPS told me, nothing more, nothing less, and in her interpretation, 'traveling' was part of the equation.

Being a Marine, its hard to get away from the jargon, but if you cant keep up, my apoligies.

Rock on!

Brad L.

What he's saying is that traveling is no longer part of the equation. Before it required traveling, until the 2007? passage of the Motorist Protection Act in the Texas Congress. So in essence, what you have is wrong to a small degree. They simplified it to basically those rules that he posted, because by definition you weren't traveling driving to work or to your son's baseball game. They simply replaced traveling with the occupation being your temporary place of residence clause.

Evidently I got beat above.

 

[txinvestigator]

Well, someone took their 'holier than thou' pill today. I am relaying what the lady at the DPS told me, nothing more, nothing less, and in her interpretation, 'traveling' was part of the equation.

I have already read the posts where you were corrected, but if I may; You were given incorret information. I posted a correction and if that is holier than thou, then I AM holier than thou.

Being a Marine, its hard to get away from the jargon, but if you cant keep up, my apoligies.

I keep up just fine leatherneck, even with your sarcasm.

 

[playadam]

do you have your cgl?