Border Patrol NH Checkpoint Nets 25 Illegal Aliens, Concord Teen With Cocaine: Reports

LINCOLN, NH — A U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on I-93 in New Hampshire this weekend resulted in 27 arrests – and opponents of President Donald Trump believing that the dragnet was implemented by him even though they’ve been occurring in the Granite State for decades. Last night, border patrol officials announced the arrests as well as the seizure of various amounts of drugs and paraphernalia. Woodstock Police also assisted with the checkpoint and handled local violations.

“Checkpoints are just one of the tools we utilize to enforce the immigration and other federal laws of our nation,” said Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent John C. Pfeifer in a press statement. “In addition to technology, manpower and intelligence, checkpoints help to deny access to major routes of egress away from the border and into our communities in the interior of the U.S.” (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Concord NH Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

During the checkpoint, 25 illegal aliens were arrested by the Swanton Sector agents who guard the border in both New Hampshire and Vermont. According to officials, all 25 did not possess valid immigration status. The aliens were from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico. Fourteen from Colombia overstayed their visas, according to officials.

Agents also seized more than 2 lbs. of marijuana as well as cocaine, mushrooms, and hash oil.

One man arrested – Jason Labrie, 18, of Concord, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader – allegedly ran the checkpoint and fled the area at a high rate of speed. After a nearly five-mile pursuit and reaching 99 mph, he was bagged by Woodstock Police and charged with reckless driving, reckless conduct, falsifying physical evidence, possession a controlled substance-cocaine, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, all felonies.

@maddow @CBSNews @ConcordNHPatch @cbsboston @MarcoWerman just passed Border Patrol chkpt on 93S in Lincoln NH?! Nowhere near Canada. pic.twitter.com/sR5aJNSXxT
— Nathaniel Woodward (@stubhubby) August 26, 2017

This weekend, as people realized there was a checkpoint that wasn't along the border, a number of visitors to and residents of New Hampshire posted notes on social media sites using the hashtags #showmeyourpapers and #trumpsamerica, insinuating the checkpoint was fascist or a new, authoritarian occurrence since the election of Trump. However, officials noted, border patrols along the Vermont and New Hampshire borders – as well as within 100-miles of the border – were stepped up in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and have been occurring around the country since the late 1970s after the United States v. Martinez-Fuerte Supreme Court decision deemed checkpoints away from the border was not a violation of the Fourth Amendment.