by Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian
Top Image by 🌸♡💙♡🌸 Julita 🌸♡💙♡🌸 from Pixabay
Recently at the Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, plain clothes police officers have been conducting gate searches of selected passengers and their luggage and during these searches, these agents have seized cash from travelers not suspected of a crime which is legal under the National Civil Asset Forfeiture Laws.
Warning: DEA Agents Are Searching Airline Passengers At Their Gates And Taking Their Money
According to an article posted at View from the Wing it states:
“DEA agents in disguise are hanging out in airport terminals and going from gate to gate searching passengers as they prepare to board their flights.
In the Atlanta airport they’ve been found telling passengers it’s a ‘secondary screening’ to make them believe they’re required to submit, even though as a legal matter doing so is voluntary. Passengers don’t know they can just say no. But saying no may mean being detained. And when agents find cash, they keep it.”
” In the United States, civil forfeiture (also called civil asset forfeiture or civil judicial forfeiture)[1] is a process in which law enforcement officers take assets from people who are suspected of involvement with crime or illegal activity without necessarily charging the owners with wrongdoing,” according to Wikipedia
U.S. House Bill 1525 Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act of 2023 or the FAIR Act of 2023 The Fair Act of 2023 was introduced in the U.S House of Representatives in March of 2023. The Bill, if passed, would change existing Federal Civil Asset Forfeiture Laws by raising evidentiary standards for the confiscation of property and requiring a prompt probable cause hearing following the seizure of money involved in a structuring offense.
The Uvalde Hesperian sent an email to U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales regarding his position on the bill and is still waiting for a response.
The National Sheriff’s Association have come out against the Bill sending a letter to U.S. Congressman from Texas Dan Crenshaw
In the letter, the organization states: “Despite the fact that they are killing hundreds of Americans daily, HR 1525, FAIR Act, would largely
dismantle a crucial tool in the fight against the Mexican drug cartels: federal civil-asset forfeiture. For
example, HR 1525 would repeal equitable sharing, which is the cornerstone of state and local participation
in joint operations with federal law enforcement, especially on task forces such as HIDT A. On behalf of
the nation’s 3,086 sheriffs, the National Sheriffs’ Association, therefore, asks you to vote against
HR 1525.”
According to Congress.gov it states:
“Specifically, the bill makes various changes to the general rules governing civil forfeiture proceedings. Among the changes, the bill
- requires counsel for an indigent property owner whose primary residence is the subject of a civil forfeiture hearing regardless of whether the owner requests counsel,
- raises the evidentiary standard from preponderance of the evidence to clear and convincing evidence, and
- sets forth factors courts must consider in determining whether a forfeiture of property used to facilitate the commission of an offense is excessive.
Additionally, the bill eliminates statutory authority for equitable sharing and directs forfeiture proceeds to be deposited into the general fund of the Treasury instead of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Assets Forfeiture Fund.
The bill also makes changes with respect to the civil forfeiture of money involved in structuring offenses (i.e., structuring currency transactions to evade currency reporting requirements). Among the changes, the bill
- specifies an evidentiary standard of knowingly for structuring offenses, and
- requires a prompt probable cause hearing following the seizure of money involved in a structuring offense.”
See National Sheriff’s Association letter below:
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