Video shows San Diego teacher refuse to answer whether she is American to border patrol and be held for more than an hour
- Shane Parmely, from San Diego, was detained at a New Mexico checkpoint
- She refused to tell Border Patrol agents if she was an American
- They detained her for over an hour before letting her go without her answering
- Passengers with her filmed the incident and she posted the videos to Facebook
A San Diego middle school teacher was detained for more than an hour at a checkpoint in New Mexico because she refused to tell agents if she was a US citizen.
When Shane Parmely and her family were stopped by Border Patrol, she was asked if she was a US citizen, but refused to answer.
The incident was filmed by passengers in the car with her and Parmely, who teaches English, art and theater, posted a series of the videos to Facebook.
She told the officers she didn't think she had to answer their questions and after some back and forth, an agent told her she was being detained.
Shane Parmely, a San Diego middle school teacher, was detained for more than an hour at a checkpoint in New Mexico because she refused to tell Border Patrol agents if she was a US citizen. The incident was filmed by passengers in the car with her and Parmely, who teaches English, art and theater, posted a series of the videos to Facebook
In the first of five videos, a Border Patrol agent asks, 'Citizens?' as Parmely drives up to the stop with her window down.
She answers: 'Are we crossing a border? I've never been asked if I'm a citizen before when I'm traveling down the road.'
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After some back and forth between Parmely and the agent, who told her she had to answer his questions, she responded: 'You can ask, but I don't have to answer.'
'You are required to answer an immigration question,' he said. 'You are not required to answer any other questions.'
She eventually asks if she can go or if she is being detained. He responds: 'You are being detained, ma'am.'
Over the course of her being detained, Parmely had interactions with several Border Patrol agents and even took a nap. She was eventually let go without having to answer the agents' questions
He eventually pulls a card out of his wallet with information about immigration law and the Supreme Court case United States v. Martinez-Fuerte.
The 1976 decision allowed US Border Patrol to set up checkpoints within 100 miles of the Mexican border, which are not a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The two go back and forth more before she asks: 'So if I just come through and say, "Yes, I’m a citizen," I can just go ahead?'
'If the agent is justified by the answer, then yes,' he responded.
'So if I have an accent, and I’m brown, can I just say, "Yes," and go ahead or do I have to prove it?
'I have a bunch of teacher friends who are sick of their kids being discriminated against,' she said.
He replied: 'Ok, I’m not discriminating against anybody.'
Parmely was detained for more than an hour, where she had interactions with several Border Patrol agents and even took a nap.
At one point when her son asked to use the bathroom, an agent said he could not use the bathroom until Parmely said if she was a citizen or not. A different agent later escorted him to the bathroom.
Parmely was eventually let go without having to answer the agents' questions.
She posted the videos to Facebook on Friday and was praised by most of the commenters, though some did complain about the way she acted towards the agents.
At one point when her son asked to use the bathroom, an agent said he could not use the bathroom until Parmely said if she was a citizen or not. A different agent later escorted him to the bathroom
Border Patrol spokesperson Mark Endicott gave a statement to the San Diego Union-Tribune about the incident.
'Border Patrol checkpoints are a critical tool for the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws,' he said.
'At a Border Patrol checkpoint, an agent may question a vehicle’s occupants about their citizenship, place of birth, and request document proof of immigration status, how legal status was obtained and make quick observations of what is in plain view in the interior of the vehicle.
'During the course of the immigration inspection, if an occupant refuses to answer an agent’s questions, the agent may detain the driver for a reasonable amount of time until he or she can make a determination regarding the occupant’s immigration status.'
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