The Maine chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has asked Cyr Bus Lines to stop allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to board their buses without cause.
The organization says agents have boarded buses at a Houlton rest stop, questioning passengers and, more recently, having drug-sniffing dogs examine all passengers’ luggage.
Carol Galvan, legal director for the ACLU of Maine, says such actions violate the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment.
“CBP still needs reasonable suspicion or probable cause in order to search people or to detain people,” Galvan says. “Those general Fourth Amendment principles apply regardless of where individuals are. Alternatively, they need consent.”
Galvan says Cyr bus drivers have been giving that consent. She says her organization has written to Cyr, urging it to follow a policy adopted by Concord Coach Lines. In 2020, Concord joined Greyhound in refusing to allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on their buses without a warrant.
Cyr Bus President Mike Cyr had no comment.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
