DEA Ends Airport Gate Searches After Years of Documented Abuses of Civil Asset Forfeiture

The Justice Department temporarily suspended the program in November because of “significant risks” of constitutional violations.

by C.J. Ciaramella
Reason.com

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is ending searches of passengers at airports and other mass transit hubs after years of investigations by government watchdogs, civil liberties groups, and media outlets documenting how agents seized legal cash from innocent American travelers.

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced in a memo last week that the agency was scrapping its Transportation Interdiction Program (TIP) and reassigning agents, citing an internal review that found the program was outdated and resulted in few arrests. The Justice Department temporarily suspended the program in November after an Inspector General report outlined the significant risk of constitutional violations and litigation created by so-called “consensual encounter” searches by DEA agents at airports.

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