Holiday travel within the U.S.

This holiday season, air and car travel appears to be down from years past. While airports will likely still have some traffic around the holidays, travel for people without valid immigration documents could be troublesome.

Recently, Customs & Border Patrol (CBP), TSA, and airport security in general has ramped up its scanning of individuals without current immigration documents on domestic flights. Or, perhaps there has been no change in the actual procedures, but the individuals being detained in airports while traveling domestically appears to be increasing. In some instances, parents without valid immigration documents who are collecting their children at the airport are apprehended.

Airports within 100 miles of any border are considered by CBP to be an area where they can question or detain individuals for any reason they deem appropriate. According to the ACLU, nearly two thirds of the U.S. population lives within 100 miles of a border. For additional information on how many of us are subject to this "Constitution-Free Zone," see: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/ACLU_highlights_ConstitutionFree_Zone_100_miles_1022.html