Greyhound Won’t Allow Trump Border Patrol To Do Warrantless Immigration Checks On Buses

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Greyhound has announced they will no longer allow Border Patrol agents to conduct immigration checks on its buses without a warrant.

Until recently, the company had said it had no choice but to allow Border Patrol agents onto their buses to check the immigration status of passengers, but the Associated Press recently published a government memo that contradicted that claim, prompting the company to reverse their stance:

Greyhound, the nation’s largest bus company, said Friday it will stop allowing Border Patrol agents without a warrant to board its buses to conduct routine immigration checks.

The company’s announcement came one week after The Associated Press reported on a leaked Border Patrol memo confirming that agents can’t board private buses without the consent of the bus company. Greyhound had previously insisted that even though it didn’t like the immigration checks, it had no choice under federal law but to allow them.

In an emailed statement, the company said it would notify the Department of Homeland Security that it does not consent to unwarranted searches on its buses or in areas of terminals that are not open to the general public. It said it would provide its drivers and bus station employees updated training regarding the new policy, and that it would place stickers on all its buses clearly stating that it does not consent to the searches.

The announcement comes after the AP uncovered a January 28 Border Patrol memo that states “When transportation checks occur on a bus at non-checkpoint locations, the agent must demonstrate that he or she gained access to the bus with the consent of the company’s owner or one of the company’s employees.”