The United States Border Patrol operates 71 traffic checkpoints, including 33 permanent traffic checkpoints, near the Mexico–United States border. [1][2] The stated primary purpose of these inspection stations is to deter illegal immigration and smuggling activities.

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Traffic checks are conducted on major highways leading away from the border to (1) detect and apprehend individuals attempting to travel further into the interior of the United States after evading detection at the border and (2) to detect illegal narcotics.

Most checkpoints are located in the southwest, but Border Patrol operates checkpoints in northern states as well. A recent ACLU Freedom of Information Act request revealed design plans for permanent Border Patrol checkpoints on southbound New England highways.

Border Patrol may stop vehicles at certain checkpoints to: (1) ask a few, limited questions to verify citizenship of the vehicles’ occupants and (2) visually inspect the exterior of a vehicle. Agents may send any vehicle to a secondary inspection area for the same purpose: brief questioning and visual inspection.

The Border Patrol also erected [when?] 33 permanent interior checkpoints near the southern border of the United States. For fiscal year 2019, the nationwide total of Border Patrol agents was 19,648, with 16,731 patrolling the southern border. [ 2 ]

Sep 26, 2019 · Border checkpoints are the third line of defense in immigration control. These checkpoints are along the border of U.S. states that border on Mexico (within 25 and 75 miles) and are areas where travelers and goods passing through these areas can be inspected.

Jun 6, 2022 · U.S. Border Patrol's immigration checkpoints operate 25 to 100 miles inland from the borders. At checkpoints, agents screen vehicles to identify people in the U.S. unlawfully and they may enforce U.S. criminal laws, such as by seizing illegal drugs.

U.S. Border Patrol operates immigration checkpoints at more than 110 locations on U.S. highways and secondary roads, generally 25 to 100 miles inland from the southwest and northern borders.