Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I live in ohio and my husband he drove to texas because he is a wholesaler. He went to new mexico, not thinking he would need his green card because new mexico is a us state. He usually carries it with him but he forgot for the texas trip. He got in new mexico but somehow ran into a homeland security check point. He has never been in that situation so yeah, they asked for id, and he showed them. They said are you a us citizen he said no, they asked for his green card and he said i don't have with me. They detained my husband for 6 hours and he was pretty much interragated. my husband has never been in trouble and lets just say he was pretty scared. now he don't know what to do, because he says there is another check point on the other side and they told him if he goes through they will probably do the same thing to him. is there anyway he can get out of there and get home to me. i'm so worried about him, and this is just crazy!? Please help if you can!
Last edited by Bo; 12-09-2010 at 08:31 AM..
Reason: Moved from the Texas forum.
1. there should be no fixed INS check points anywhere, but within 100 miles of the border.....if your husband knew he was going to be that close to the border he should have taken his paperwork
2. if he had a valid ID then there should not be an issue.....a green card is not needed to BE in the USA it is needed to WORK in the USA there are plenty of non-US citizens in the USA for all kinds of reasons legally that would not specifically have a green card
3. if your husband has a valid green card it should have been in the INS computers and easily verified
4. you said check point on the other side......other side of WHAT
if he was heading south towards the border and hit one of the check points 100 miles or less from the border and he was going south there would be no reason for him to stop they only stop you going north
5. if they already stopped him......and let him go.......then it is not like the next time they stop him they will suddenly decide to not let him go......unless he is carrying large amounts of untraceable cash or something illegal
6. what do you expect anyone to do......the simple answer is get back in the car......drive through the check point......get the "6 hour interrogation" and after that get back in the car and drive home......unless there is some issue with what he will be doing on the drive back home
there are no routes past the 100 mile border checks and even if there were the roads will be dirt, horrible, and you will be noted and stopped and searched for sure because you will be well off the beaten path you belong on and if already suspicious on the main roads you will be double suspicious on the dirt roads where they will 100% assume you are trying to go around the check points....I am 99% sure no such roads exist and if they do they will be horrible and there will also be a good chance they will be on large tracks of private property and again if not stopped by the owners you will be called in and stopped by the INS
unless there are a lot of questionable circumstances about what your husbands actual business is then the simple answer is he would have already been detained (oh wait ohdumbo is in office now) and if they did not detain him the first time then why in the hell would they the second time.....and they should have all needed legal documents on the computer if he has a valid ID on him.....so he needs to get back in the car, gut it up, hit the check point, pay the price for not having his affairs in order with the 6 hour questioning and then drive home
or he needs to be more honest with his wife about why he is getting stopped for being suspicious
They seem to be taking these checkpoints a bit more seriously - with all the violence in Mexico, the drug trafficking, the weapons running, and the cartels running over here to escape their enemies. I thought foreigners living here were expected to carry their papers.
I live in ohio and my husband he drove to texas because he is a wholesaler. He went to new mexico, not thinking he would need his green card because new mexico is a us state. He usually carries it with him but he forgot for the texas trip. He got in new mexico but somehow ran into a homeland security check point. He has never been in that situation so yeah, they asked for id, and he showed them. They said are you a us citizen he said no, they asked for his green card and he said i don't have with me. They detained my husband for 6 hours and he was pretty much interragated. my husband has never been in trouble and lets just say he was pretty scared. now he don't know what to do, because he says there is another check point on the other side and they told him if he goes through they will probably do the same thing to him. is there anyway he can get out of there and get home to me. i'm so worried about him, and this is just crazy!? Please help if you can!
This doesn't make sense to me either, but just in case, why the heck haven't you just over nighted his green card to him via the post office or Fed Ex?
Exactly where did this happen? In what part of Texas/New Mexico? Was he in/around El Paso where Texas, New Mexico and Mexico all kind of meet? If it was in this area I can understand it. If he was somewhere else, I am confused. There are immigration stops along the interstates near the US/Mexican border. They are only on the side of the interstate headed away from the Mexican border. So if he was driving west bound on I-10 through El Paso and passed from Texas and into New Mexico after he crossed into New Mexico, I believe he would encounter an immigration stop somewhere around Las Cruces, NM, as he would be driving away from the Mexican border. Then if he were to head back into El Paso and on further into Texas eastbound on I-10 then he would also have to go through a checkpoint just outside of Sierra Blanca, TX.
It has nothing to do with going from state to state, but just because you are near the Mexican border. If he crossed into New Mexico anywhere else along the Texas border then there are no immigration checkpoints. And these checkpoints are nothing new. I have been driving through that area of Texas and New Mexico for 30 years and they have always been there.
This area of Texas, near the Mexican border is quite desolate and isolated and the checkpoints are looking for all sorts of illegal things from drugs to human trafficking, that could have crossed the border. I would think that if you are not a US citizen it would always be wise to carry any necessary documentation when traveling near the border whether its the Mexican border or the Canadian border. I may be mistaken, its been a while, but I seem to remember a checkpoint somewhere in Arizona, near the Mexican border as well.
The green card is the size of a drivers license -- I don't know why you wouldn't carry it. My partner who is a naturalized citizen always carried his in his wallet before he gain US citizenship. This whole story is weird. Why doesn't the spouse fly down to Texas with the green card if necessary? Extraordinary situations call for extraordinary responses. This all sounds incredibly inept. BTW, there did used to be state agricultural inspection stops on the routes into Arizona, where you used to be stopped and asked about any plants or animals you might be bringing in. Don't know if AZ still does that but if they do I bet they discreetly check for other things as well. Like another poster I've been through US immigration stops (permanent highway booths) in South Texas not terribly far from Brownville, so those are spread out along the border region -- I encountered the one we went through on the way back from South Padre and we were well within US territory.
The last I heard there are no checkpoints between states. Did he wander into Mexico?
And if he did, why?
There are secondary Border Patrol checkpoints along the border. In New Mexico/Texas you cannot leave the El Paso/La Cruces area and head inland without hitting a checkpoint.
Can you Fedex him his card or at least send a FAX or image via internet?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
