CBP Law Enforcement & Criminal Investigations Flashcards

Under the Fourth Amendment, what is generally required before a CBP officer conducts a search away from the border based on a tip about narcotics in a private residence?

Answer: A search warrant supported by probable cause

Searches of a private residence away from the border generally require a warrant supported by probable cause.

What legal standard must a Border Patrol agent meet to make an investigatory stop of a vehicle near the border?

Answer: Reasonable suspicion of criminal activity

An investigatory (Terry) stop requires reasonable suspicion based on articulable facts.

Which factor did the Supreme Court in United States v. Brignoni-Ponce hold may NOT alone justify a roving patrol stop?

Answer: Apparent Mexican ancestry of the occupants

Apparent ethnicity alone cannot justify a stop; it may be one factor among many.

What is the primary purpose of reading Miranda warnings to a suspect?

Answer: To protect against compelled self-incrimination during custodial interrogation

Miranda warnings protect the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during custodial interrogation.

When may a CBP officer use deadly force under agency policy?

Answer: When there is a reasonable belief of imminent danger of death or serious physical injury

Deadly force is authorized only when there is a reasonable belief of imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.

A subject pulls his arm away and tenses when an agent attempts to handcuff him. This is best classified as what level on the use-of-force continuum?

Answer: Active resistance

Pulling away and physically resisting handcuffing is active resistance.

What document is typically required to conduct electronic surveillance of a suspect's phone communications in a criminal investigation?

Answer: A Title III wiretap order from a judge

Intercepting wire communications requires a Title III court order based on probable cause.