What would happen if a US citizen tried to sneak into the United States?

August 30, 2019 12:57 PM

What would be the potential crimes for an American citizen to sneak into the United States from either Canada or Mexico?

Imagine a US citizen drives to Canada or Mexico. Then they hike back into the United States while avoiding any established border crossings. If they are caught by ICE or CBP, what would likely happen? What crimes might they be charged with?

I would be curious to the answers to this question if the person a) had their US passport on them, b) did not have their US passport on them.

Assume the person isn't breaking any other laws, e.g. they aren't trafficking drugs or anything else.

Basically, this would be a civil disobedience protest against the US border, and an intentional effort to move across the border into the US, without going through established channels.

[I know you are not my lawyer. This is describing a hypothetical situation, for the purpose of better understanding what might happen.]

posted by crocodiletsunami to Law & Government (14 answers total)

Maybe you already know this, but this is actually an open concern for long-distance hikers who want to start the Pacific Crest Trail at the Canadian border - it is legal to hike from the US to Canada across the border with an entry permit but it is not legal to go the other way. To start at the border you have to hike north about 30 miles from the nearest US trailhead. According to the Pacific Crest Tail Association:

Though your intentions may be harmless, [US Citizens] who cross the international border into the United States risk a criminal penalty of up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine (19 U.S.C. 1459(g)) and a civil penalty of $5,000 for the first violation and $10,000 for each subsequent violation (19 U.S.C. l4.59(fJ).

posted by muddgirl at 1:05 PM on August 30, 2019 [24 favorites]

I've crossed into the US without having my passport stamped. I walked across the border from Mexico, in front of US border patrol. This was at an official port of entry, pre-9/11, and they saw us and watched us. I had my passport. I was also a college-aged, white, mostly clean cut backpacker, so I don't think they were on the lookout for my friend and me. I had flown into a different country, south of Mexico, so it's not like I walked both ways. But in any case, border patrol isn't necessarily always rigorous in the same way for everyone at every port of entry.

If you are doing this as an act of civil disobedience, presumably the idea is to get caught? The other thing is if Canada is okay without you leaving through an official port of entry. So you might be violating laws of two countries.
posted by bluedaisy at 1:11 PM on August 30, 2019

The other thing is if Canada is okay without you leaving through an official port of entry.

FWIW on that point, even *at* the official ports of entry that I've transited from Canada to the US, Canada couldn't seem to be less bothered that I was doing it there. So I can't imagine they'd care more somewhere else.

Going from the US into Canada? That resulted in a conversation about how permanently unsuccessful I have been at seeing a bear in the wild and a handshake guarantee that I would see them if I went out of our way into Waterton Lakes NP on our way back to Calgary. Fucking liar.

I'd be much more concerned about an overzealous CBP / ICE agent making your life temporarily super inconvenient and perhaps a pretty steep fine. Our border agents are basically cops - people we give guns and badges and little or no accountability to in the interest of keeping us "safe." Tread at your own risk.
posted by allkindsoftime at 1:31 PM on August 30, 2019 [6 favorites]

This was written 30+ years ago but experiential journalist Ted Conover write Coyotes: A Journey Across Borders With America's Illegal Aliens. It includes a story of him sneaking back into the country.
posted by mmascolino at 1:52 PM on August 30, 2019 [3 favorites]

There are remote areas on the Alaska-Canada border where I have checked back into the U.S. before I left.

When you exit the U.S. into Canada, you stop on the U.S. side and tell the U.S. border patrol that you will be re-entering the the U.S. some weeks later, on foot or by boat, at some remote location where there is no official crossing. Then you go 100 feet and tell the Canadian border patrol the same thing. Weeks later you just walk or float into the U.S. No border patrol involved.
posted by JackFlash at 1:54 PM on August 30, 2019 [8 favorites]

There may be statutes or regulations that require that you enter at an official crossing, or otherwise provide notice as JackFlash comments. But in the end, if you are a U.S. citizen you have a right to be here and you cannot be sent back to from where you came because, um, that's here.

Getting the current administration to recognize and enforce those principles is another thing.
posted by megatherium at 2:13 PM on August 30, 2019

They're locking up citizens on the suspicion of being illegal, no criminal charge is needed. If one of these assholes is having a bad day or you're not white or they think you're better than them or something they can just lock you up for nothing.
posted by bleep at 2:19 PM on August 30, 2019 [9 favorites]

and tell the U.S. border patrol that you will be re-entering the the U.S. some weeks later, on foot or by boat

I'm curious if you had this experience recently. My impression is that CBP has been cracking down in the last 10 years or so on informal foot crossings, don't know if this is due to a new regulation or just getting stricter about enforcement.

Crossing into the US by water in a pleasure boat is, interestingly enough, a completely different beast than crossing by foot.
posted by muddgirl at 2:46 PM on August 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Aren't there towns on the US-Canada border that straddle both countries? There's one library that's technically in both. You could cross the border multiple times in a day there without talking to anyone:

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20171105-the-us-canada-border-runs-through-this-tiny-library
posted by storytam at 3:28 PM on August 30, 2019

I'm thinking legal cannabis has changed the dynamic, based on a friends experience coming back thru customs to US a couple weeks ago.
posted by patnok at 3:43 PM on August 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

If you are caught hiking across the border tha agents have a much wider span of powers than your regular cop who might stop you on the street. They don’t need probable cause so they can just search all your stuff. They can and have gone through folks phones and computers. Copied all the contents. So the standard is now no evidence of crime anywhere in your digital life, in your emails, messages, chats or photos.

Let’s say you clean off everything on your device so it’s factory fresh - well the border agents also have broad powers to seize suspicious property like than ‘new’ phone you appear to be importing into the US. And your fancy boots. The burden would be on you to prove that all your possessions belong to you.
posted by zenon at 6:03 PM on August 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Remember the 100 mile "Border Zone." CBP can search and seize, without a warrant, at any time in this zone.
posted by Marky at 8:59 PM on August 30, 2019 [3 favorites]

Some good links in the replies to my question about my own undocumented border crossing from Canada to the US.
posted by vespabelle at 1:06 PM on August 31, 2019

I've been to the library that storytam mentions. You have to leave through the same door you came in. There are huge signs outside the building warning people against crossing the border into Canada.
posted by soelo at 9:56 PM on September 1, 2019