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New Mexico Supreme Court: Search/Seizure Protections Don't Apply At The Border

The New Mexico Supreme Court says the state's protections against search and seizure do not apply at international border checkpoints.

The court made the distinction Thursday in overturning a previous ruling made by an appeals court in a 2012 drug smuggling case.

According to court documents, Aide Sanchez was entering the Santa Teresa Port of Entry from Mexico in January 2012.

A Border Patrol agent referred Sanchez's van to a secondary search even though she had valid documentation of her status as a permanent resident.

The search turned up marijuana and led to Sanchez's indictment of distribution and conspiracy to commit distribution of marijuana.

Sanchez argued in district court that border agents lacked reasonable suspicion of criminal activity as required under the New Mexico Constitution.

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