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| Super: Border Patrol Recruiting Ad 9 sec: In 2006 President George W Bush allocated nearly seven billion dollars to securing our borders. (border security) |
| 2. 00:00:25;04 | sound up: The Border Patrol |
| 3. 00:00:31;14 | VO: Customs and Border Protection has now become the largest law enforcement agency in the country. |
| 4. 00:00:38;26 | Border Patrol Agent: "The majority of our//activity is going to be within the first 30 miles of the border because that's where our primary focus is." |
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| 6. 00:00:50;21 | Most Americans may not know it, but there's a second line of defense - a network of domestic checkpoints, up to 100 miles away from Mexico. These internal checkpoints also received an influx of agents as well as new gear and sniffer dogs. |
| 7. 00:01:05;24 | We went to check out a particularly notorious one - Sierra Blanca. In the middle of the nowhere on interstate 10 in West Texas. [[Sound up]] This is where a host of American celebrities have been busted for drugs - Snoop Dogg ... Fiona Apple ... and of course Willie Nelson while rolling through in his tour bus. |
| 8. 00:01:26;22 | VO: Checkpoints like this were set up to catch illegal immigrants and major drug traffickers. But The Center for Investigative Reporting has found that instead this Border Patrol checkpoint is ensnaring mostly Americans - thousands of U.S. citizens - traveling within their own country. |
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00:02:34;25 | VO: In the dusty parking lot of the Sierra Blanca police station, I met three friends from Austin who just learned this the hard way [Lights match] Lewis Phelps, the one who looks a little worse for wear, just turned twenty-six. Lewis: We went to a hockey game on my birthday, went downtown, Austin, Did all that. That was a fun time. We went to Vegas. About like 5 days later that was fun. And then the ride back was until the checkpoint on I-10. VO: That's when Lewis was busted. The Center for Investigative Reporting has discovered that eight out ten people arrested at this checkpoint are American citizens, like Lewis. Juan: He was driving. I was asleep. And our buddy Lewis was passed out in the back. And he kind of woke us up and we were what, 100 yards from the checkpoint. Nick: yeah so we kind of didn't know to do. I kind of just like woke up and put my seatbelt on. And I guess the border patrol agent actually woke Lewis up because we didn't wake him up. |
| 10. 00:02:41;19 | VO: The checkpoint at Sierra Blanca, is on I-10, the highway that runs from California to Florida - a road that never even goes into Mexico. But because of the high traffic, the site was chosen as an immigration checkpoint in the 1970s. The agents can only ask questions about immigration status, unless the dogs give them probable cause to stop and search you. |
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00:03:32;13 | Chavala: Was it a dog that got you or what happened? Nick: Yeah, it was a dog. Juan: Yeah, that dog. Juan: I love dogs but I hate that one. There's two officers on each side of the car and then the one to our right had a dog with a and as we drove by he liked touch the side of the car and dog would like come up and I guess the dog smelled something. Cause he kind of waved us down at the side and they asked us to go inside and then with the dog. It was weird. I was watching them through the little window. They opened up all the doors and just let the dog come in the car. He was just walking around sniffing around stuff. And he was like bark when he found something. VO: For Lewis, worst Birthday ever. |
| 13. 00:03:37;24 | Arvin: I've got a piece of advice for you, if you don't wanna get busted leave your dope at home. But if you do decide to bring it we are gonna bust you and you are gonna pay for it. |
| 14. 00:03:47;01 | VO: Sheriff Arvin West is the law in this town of 533 people. Busting drug offenders is a Texas tradition, but now they are overwhelmed by the number of cases they have to handle. |
| 15. 00:03:58;29 | Arvin: Our caseload, from 2000 to when I took office, was approximately three-400 cases a year. We're over 2,000, pretty close to 3,000 cases a year now because of ... The biggest majority being the checkpoint or checkpoints. |
| 16. 00:04:12;29 | WILSON: "Hey guys, dispatched called, there's four cases at the checkpoint ..." |
| 17. 00:04:17;27 | VO: There are so many cases, the Sheriff's office has had to hire on more help. |
| 18. 00:04:21;18 | WILSON: "You take your two recruits... " "let's roll..." |
| 19. 00:04:30;07 | Casey: "It's my fourth day and so far I really like it. It's a lot of fun. The hours are incredibly long so far because I'm still doing things and training but it's a lotta of fun and I really enjoy it. I suspect I'm really going to enjoy it for a while. |
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| VO: Most of what Casey will be dealing with are small time drug offences Arvin: When they contact us, we go out there. if it's a small amount, personal use. For example, if they've just got a joint or two, then we issue them a citation there to contact the courts. If it's more than that or if it's a penalty two group narcotic or more, then we arrest them and we bring them to jail. |
| 21. 00:05:12;08 | VO: That's exactly what happened to Lewis Phelps and thousands like him. I went to go speak with Rusty Fleming, who works at the sheriff's office. |
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00:06:37;12 00:06:38;14 | Rusty: We've got about 80 right now, ... Federal cases, overflow from other jails, we've got obviously checkpoint cases. VO: Rusty took me back to the holding cells. It was stuffy, like a stale dorm room. This was where they were holding Lewis Phelps, the guy having the worst birthday ever ... Rusty: Mr. Phelps ... how you doing bro? Phelps: I'm doing alright. Chavala: Thanks for talking to us. Rusty: Yesterday, did you get busted at the checkpoint? Phelps: Sure did. Rusty: : Do you want to tell me about it? Phelps: They said they found some stuff in my bag, took me in the back, put me in the cell, now I'm here. Rusty: What did... when they searched the car, did they ask you to claim it? Whether it was your bag or not? Phelps: There was two of my friends in the car and it was in my backpack. So I took it. I don't do that to my friends. Rusty: Right. Did they go on? Phelps: Nah, they're still here. Rusty: The way it works is their case will get put in front of a grand jury and I can tell you as far as checkpoint cases go, the Border Patrol wires it up tight. So probably 99.9% of the checkpoint cases all get indicted. CM: Is he typical? Rusty: That's very typical. For checkpoint cases, that's just the norm. |
| 23. 00:06:43;06 | VO: The cell was full other out of towners caught at the checkpoint. |
| 24. 00:06:46;27 | Unknown man: (Unintelligible) Hey man let us out this motherfucker. Everybody here cuz of the checkpoint. I'm from California too. I got my weed card. They got me in here for a paraphernalia charge. What's up with that shit? And mama I love you. I'll be out in about a month. (Unintelligible) |
| 25. 00:06:59;12 | VO: While Lewis sits tight, his friends wait it out in the parking lot after spending the night in a nearby motel. |
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00:07:17;15 | Nick: Yeah, so it's just a waiting game right now. Chavala: Never again right? Juan: Unfortunately Juan: Yeah, hopefully not. Nick: Never again drive through here. Next time we go to Vegas we'll just stick the Roswell route. Chavala: But it's not even like you guys were driving across the border. Nick: No, it was going from like New Mexico to Texas. And we had already got passed the border. Like, this checkpoint is like, Juan: 80 miles west of El, east of El Paso. So Nick: So we were like past, we went through El Paso and we were like ok I guess we're fine. We don't have to worry about anything. And then it's like eighty miles later, it's where they get you. |
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00:07:54;05 | VO: Last year alone Hudspeth County housed and processed 2600 cases from the checkpoint - it has become the main activity in this tiny town. Deputy: If it we didn't have the checkpoint with the amount of cases that come through there, this town would be Mayberry VO: But even though the number of arrests is at an all-time high, the amount of drugs seized in each case is typically very small. |
| 28. 00:08:06;16 00:08:09;02 | VO: Still, with all those arrests, it adds up to a roomful of weed. CM: That smell, I can't ignore it. Rusty: That's because you're only one wall away from 60,000 pounds of dope that we keep in the evidence lock up right there. |
| 29. 00:08:21;02 00:08:52;01 00:09:04;29 00:09:28;05 00:09:35;02 00:09:59;24 00:10:03;03 00:10:08:18 00:10:22;12 00:10:24;19 | Rusty: And this is the main storage for all the evidence that we get. You'll get things like, obviously we've got pharmaceuticals here, you've got small amounts or what we would consider to be small amounts of marijuana. This right here, this is one load that we procured out of a vehicle and it's approximately, together, it;s about 1500 pounds.// VO: This huge seizure, given pride of place in the evidence room, had obviously been prepared by professionals. Rusty: First of all lift that -- each one of those bundles is typically about 50 to 100 pounds and the reason it's got this green on it is that's axle grease. And what they do is they seal it first, with a saran wrap and then they put the axle grease on it and then the seal it again with more Saran wrap to through the dogs off. And then these loads are broken down into smaller loads and then they're distributed around the country. VO: But this case was clearly the exception. Most cases involve amounts less than four ounces. CM: I'm seeing a lot of these boxed with ‘Mis-d DOJ cases' Rusty: Yeah what this is we typically will put multiple cases in these boxes just to keep it easy to store. We handle nearly three thousand cases out of the checkpoint alone, each year, so it really just depends. Each case is bagged up separately. And if you notice these are sealed by Border Patrol. VO: Rusty opened up a box, filled with bags of pot brownies. (sound up - CM: What is in here - cookies? Rusty: And see, when the feds take a case like cookies, brownies, they weigh the whole thing, even the container they're in. So you might get busted for 10 lbs of cookies, even though there's less than an ounce of pot in it. VO: And THAT, can get you a FELONY charge. (sound up) Rusty: Oh, it sucks, but it is meant to. |
| 30. 00:10::29;10 | VO: Lewis Phelps is one of the thousands of cases involving less than four ounces of pot. He also had a little DMT, a party drug. That's why he had to spend the night in jail. |
| 31. 00:10:43;10 00:10:45;00 | CM: So what's going to happen next to that guy? Rusty: Well typically he'll get magistrated. And after he's magistrated, we'll set the bond on him. [[Dip down sound ]] And, you know, he'll call a bonding agent here in town and he'll get bail set and he'll get out. |
| 32. 00:10:59;26 | VO: At the jail, the county judge sets the bond for prisoners awaiting trial. This is when Phelps finds out how much he'll have to pay to get out. |
| 33. 00:11:08;28 00:11:10;06 00:11:11;28 00:11:15;13 00:11:16;07 00:11:22;13 00:11:23;21 00:11:25;25 00:11:47;04 00:12:01;09 00:12:03;18 00:12:06;16 00:12:13;02 | Judge: You're Lewis James Phelps? Lewis: Yes sir Judge: Lewis my name is Mike Doyal, I'm the county judge for Hudspeth County. Lewis: Yes sir Judge: And I'm here to read you your rights and set bond. Uh .. where do you live at? Lewis: I live in Austin, Texas Judge: Austin, Texas. Mmkay VO: Judge Mike Doyal has lived in Hudspeth County for several decades and while he believes the law needs to be enforced, he thinks the price of housing and prosecuting all these drug cases is costing the county more than it can afford. Judge: That little baggy of marijuana, you know how much that cost the state of Texas? [laugh] When you add up all the people, it would be very substantial, I'm sure. //Do you understand your rights? Lewis: Yes sir Judge: Your bond is going to be set at $2000 dollars. Lewis: Yes sir VO: The fines and bonds are processed by County Clerk, Teresa Brown |
| 34. 00:12:16;27 | Clerk: We don't care if you smoke dope -- bring more! We want your money. We're a broke county. I need job security! |
| 35. 00:12:27;18 | VO: She's not joking -- the county thought that all of these arrests from checkpoint would be a way to make money, with their costs being reimbursed by the Federal government. But all that's changing. |
| 36. 00:12:36;02 | Arvin: The federal government used to reimburse us for our cost. They started out dollar for dollar and they're the ones that made the approach and said, "Look, if you'll help us do this, for every dollar it costs you to house these guys, to prosecute these guys, to bring justice to the table, we'll pay, we'll reimburse you guys." Seemed like a good deal. |
| 37. 00:12:58;29 | Judge: Every year they cut funding a little more and a little more and a little more. And if I'm not mistaken I think the last time we got paid approximately 48% of what we actually applied for. And it's my understanding that it's going to be cut even more. And it's very quickly getting to the point where we may end up telling federal government "You caught him, you skin this cat." |
| 38. 00:13:30;13 | VO: In other words the system of netting small fry offenders at checkpoints and turning them over to local sheriffs to prosecute is starting to break down. In fact, with all the budget cuts in Washington, it's about to get a lot worse, for the locals. |
| 39. 00:13:44;19 | VO: Yolanda Esparza is the county auditor, she was preparing the county's invoice to the Federal government when she got some startling news. |
| 40. 00:13:53;27 00:14:24;12 00:14:26;13 | Yolanda: It was a shocker for all of us. On the guidelines the first thing that I had on there and it was in red as you can see and it's telling us that beginning in this year 2013 the bureau of justice assistance will only reimburse prosecution cost and will no longer reimburse us for the detention cost under the Southwest border prosecution program. // We'll be housing the inmates for nothing. We will not get reimbursed for any of it. CM: What if you guys just say we're not taking it anymore? Yolanda: I don't know if it's legal to stop taking them but at this point we don't know what else to do. We can not afford to be housing them and not get reimbursed for it. You know. So it's devastation for us. Really devastation for the county. |
| 41. 00:14:47;19 | VO: The government has depended on counties like these to police the frontlines of the drug war. But now there's rebellion in the air. The locals say that if Washington won't pay to prosecute its drug policy, they can't take on the costs. |
| 42. 00:15:02;16 | Arvin (on camera): The government doesn't want this to work. Arvin (off camera): I'm not going to be begging the federal government to give us money to do the job that they're not doing. If they want to take the money, fine but take the problem, too. |
| 43. 00:15:14;07 | Judge: Well, it will get to a point in time and we have done this once before, we'll quit taking their cases. |
| 44. 00:15:20;27 | VO: We asked the Department of Justice what was going on. They declined to appear on camera, but sent me this statement: "Due to the current funding constraints, the Department has had to make difficult choices regarding funding for other programs, like the Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative ... The Congress has also proposed reducing funding for this program - cutting the program from $31 million in 2010 to $4.6 million in 2013." The world is changing around Sierra Blanca. Washington doesn't consider the prosecution of low-level drug busts of American citizens a priority. And something bigger may be happening as well. Other states in the West have moved toward legalization of marijuana. And that's just unthinkable for the drug-busters of Sierra Blanca. |
| 45. 00:16:05;10 | Arvin: You've got states like California that are legalizing marijuana, Colorado now has followed suit. Sounds like New Mexico's going to follow suit. Those people, although it's supposed to be for medicinal purposes, medical issues, we all know that's a crock. |
| 46. 00:16:22;05 | Judge: I don't understand how they can do this in California when it's against federal law. So I'd really like a clarification and an explanation on that. |
| 47. 00:16:36;24 | Wilson: I don't know where all these people are going, why there's so many of them coming from the other states, going through the interstate, with drugs - I don't know. You know, maybe our society has lost what's right and what's wrong - and marijuana is wrong. |
| 48. 00:17:06;05 | VO: Lewis Phelps was released from jail after he posted bond with the help of his friends. The way things are going, he may be one of the last checkpoint cases to end up spending the night in the jail cells of Sierra Blanca. Sheriff West is now threatening to stop taking cases like this from the checkpoint. The costs are bankrupting his county. Relieved, Phelps and his friends head back to Austin. But for the Sheriff, it feels like losing the war on drugs. |
| 49. 00:17:36;03 | Arvin: As a law enforcement officer you have to ask yourself the question, "What's next? Murders? Rapists that we're going to let walk down the street?" We've got to draw the line somewhere and that's not happening in the drug trade. For 47 years, we fought this war on drugs. For forty something years, we have lost our butts on this and I don't care what Napolitano tells you, what Obama tells you, what Reagan tells you. We have lost our butts on this. We are so far behind the curve on this, it's pathetic. |
| CREDITS | Chavala Madlena - Co-Producer & Correspondent David Ritsher - Co-Producer & Editor Steve Talbot - Senior Producer Robert Salladay - Story Editor Josiah Hooper - Director Andrew Becker - Reporter George W. Schulz - Reporter Sharon Pieczenik - Second Camera & Associate Producer Kerri Connelly - Multimedia Producer & Sound Production Assistants - Rachel de Leon & Owen Wesson Sam Ward - Graphics Sharon Tiller - Executive Producer Steve Oh for TYT - Chief Operating Officer Mark Katches for CIR - Editorial Director |
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