Immigration Checkpoint On Major New Hampshire Highway

WOODSTOCK, NH — Federal authorities on Friday conducted an immigration checkpoint on Interstate 93 in Woodstock in Northern New Hampshire — the second such checkpoint in the state this year. The checkpoint was conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and extended to Saturday and Sunday. A Twitter user who said he was stopped at the checkpoint called it a "stupid waste of time." A customs official, on the other hand, called it a "critical enforcement tool."

The checkpoint was held on the southbound side of I-93, one of the state's major highways on the route to and from Canada. Woodstock is about 100 miles from the Canadian border.

Congressional candidate Justin O'Donnell shared a Facebook Live video (shown below) as he drove through the checkpoint. The video shows O'Donnell declining to answer some of the border patrol agents' questions and objecting to the checkpoint because it was "nowhere near" the Canadian border. A border agent disagreed.

"I don't know if you're a citizen," the agent tells O'Donnell. "I don't know if you're a terrorist."

O'Donnell was eventually allowed to drive off.

Customs officials are expected to announce the number of individuals arrested at the checkpoint at its conclusion. It was the third I-93 immigration checkpoint in New Hampshire over the last year.

In May, customs officials conducted another checkpoint in Woodstock over Memorial Day weekend that netted 17 arrests. Those arrested did not have legal immigration status, officials said. Six of those arrested overstayed their visas and nationals from countries including Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, Montenegro, Ukraine and Uzbekistan were detained and scheduled for deportation, officials said. Agents also seized a "small amount of marijuana, hash oil and THC vape oil" from motorists.

"Checkpoint operations are a critical enforcement tool for the enforcement of our immigration laws and are a part of our defense in depth strategy," customs Agent Robert Garcia said in a statement in May following the 17 arrests. "In addition to technology, manpower and intelligence, checkpoints help to deny access to major routes of egress away from the border and into our communities in the interior of the U.S."

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire has opposed the checkpoints, which it calls unconstitutional. The group said it was aware of the current checkpoint this weekend.

"At these checkpoints, every motorist is stopped and asked about their immigration status," the ACLU said in a statement. "Agents do not need any suspicion to stop you and ask you questions at a lawful checkpoint, but their questions should be brief and related to verifying immigration status ... If you find yourself at an immigration checkpoint while you are driving, never flee from it — it’s a felony."

The group added, "When you are at a checkpoint, you can remain silent, inform the agent that you decline to answer their questions or tell the agent you will only answer questions in the presence of an attorney. Refusing to answer the agent’s question will likely result in being further detained for questioning, being referred to secondary inspection, or both."

A New Hampshire judge in May declared such checkpoints unconstitutional, though that has not deterred federal authorities from continuing to conduct them.

In August 2017, another checkpoint held on Interstate 93 in Lincoln netted 25 arrests.

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Video warning: some graphic language

Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducts an immigration checkpoint on Interstate 93 in New Hampshire in May 2018. (Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)