A video of an altercation between a San Diego resident and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at a checkpoint in New Mexico has gone viral after the woman, Shane Parmely, put it up on her Facebook page.
In the video, filmed by Parmely's family during the interaction, the Border Patrol agent asks Parmely, a middle school teacher, if she is an American citizen.
In response to this question, Parmely can be heard saying, "I'm passing a federally-funded highway, driving, minding my own business. And I get pulled over and asked if I'm a citizen."
Parmely responds that she is not answering the question.
In the video, Parmely insists that she actually does not have to answer the question, and in response, a patrolman shows her a card listing the immigration laws.
Since she would not answer the question regarding her citizenship, Parmely was detained for over an hour, but later let go.
Later in the CBS News 8 video, Parmely insists that took this "action" in refusing to answer the question in solidarity with her friends who get asked similar questions when going through checkpoints.
In response to the video and Parmely's declarations, the Border Patrol put out an official statement:
Border Patrol checkpoints are critical tool for the enforcement of our nation's immigration laws. At a Border Patrol checkpoint, an agent may question a vehicle's occupants about their citizenship, place of birth, and request document proof of immigration status, how legal status was obtained and make quick observations of what is in plain view in the interior of the vehicle. During the course of the immigration inspection, if an occupant refuse to answer an agent's questions, the agent may detain the driver for a reasonable amount of time until he or she can make a determination regarding the occupant's immigration status. It is agency policy that all individuals with whom we interact are treated with dignity and respect.
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