(a)(1) External boundary. The term external boundary, as used in section 287(a)(3) of the Act, means the land boundaries and the territorial sea of the United States extending 12 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States determined in accordance with international law.
(2) Reasonable distance. The term reasonable distance, as used in section 287(a) (3) of the Act, means within 100 air miles from any external boundary of the United States or any shorter distance which may be fixed by the chief patrol agent for CBP, or the special agent in charge for ICE, or, so far as the power to board and search aircraft is concerned any distance fixed pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section.
(b) Reasonable distance; fixing by chief patrol agents and special agents in charge. In fixing distances not exceeding 100 air miles pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, chief patrol agents and special agents in charge shall take into consideration topography, confluence of arteries of transportation leading from external boundaries, density of population, possible inconvenience to the traveling public, types of conveyances used, and reliable information as to movements of persons effecting illegal entry into the United States: Provided, That whenever in the opinion of a chief patrol agent or special agent in charge a distance in his or her sector or district of more than 100 air miles from any external boundary of the United States would because of unusual circumstances be reasonable, such chief patrol agent or special agent in charge shall forward a complete report with respect to the matter to the Commissioner of CBP, or the Assistant Secretary for ICE, as appropriate, who may, if he determines that such action is justified, declare such distance to be reasonable.
(c) Patrolling the border. The phrase patrolling the border to prevent the illegal entry of aliens into the United States as used in section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act means conducting such activities as are customary, or reasonable and necessary, to prevent the illegal entry of aliens into the United States.
(d) Arrested by federal, state, or local law enforcement official. The term arrested, as used in section 287(d) of the Act (as amended by section 1701 (Subtitle M) of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, Pub. L. 99-509), means that an alien has been—
(1) Physically taken into custody for a criminal violation of the controlled substance laws; and
(2) Subsequently booked, charged or otherwise officially processed; or
(3) Provided an initial appearance before a judicial officer where the alien has been informed of the charges and the right to counsel.
(e) Law enforcement or other official. The phrase law enforcement official (or other official), as used in section 287(d) of the Act, means an officer or employee of an agency engaged in the administration of criminal justice pursuant to statute, executive order, or delegation by the Secretary, including
(1) Courts;
(2) A government agency or component which performs the administration of criminal justice as defined in 28 CFR part 20 including performance of any of the following activities: detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders.
(f) Controlled substance. The term controlled substance, as used in section 287(d)(3) of the Act, shall mean the same as that referenced in the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 801 et seq., and shall include any substance contained in Schedules I through V of 21 CFR 1308.1 et seq. For the purposes of this chapter, the term controlled substance includes controlled substance analogues as defined in 21 U.S.C. 802(23) and 813.
(g) Basic immigration law enforcement training. The phrase basic immigration law enforcement training, as used in §§ 287.5 and 287.8, means the successful completion of one of the following courses of training provided at the Immigration Officer Academy or Border Patrol Academy: Immigration Officer Basic Training Course after 1971; Border Patrol Basic Training Course after 1950; Immigration Detention Enforcement Officer Basic Training Course after 1977; and Immigration Customs Enforcement Special Agent Training, after 2002; or training substantially equivalent thereto as determined by the Commissioner of CBP, the Assistant Secretary/Director of ICE, or the Director of USCIS with respect to personnel in their respective bureaus. The phrase basic immigration law enforcement training also means the successful completion of the Other than Permanent Full-Time (OTP) Immigration Inspector Basic Training Course after 1991 in the case of individuals who are OTP immigration inspectors. Conversion by OTP immigration to any other status requires training applicable to that position.
(h) References to specific titles of officers mean all individuals holding such positions and any individual acting in such position.
(i) Nothing in this part limits the authority of any DHS officers to act pursuant to any authorities that they may otherwise possess.
[22 FR 9808, Dec. 6, 1957, as amended at 29 FR 13244, Sept. 24, 1964; 53 FR 9283, Mar. 22, 1988; 57 FR 47258, Oct. 15, 1992; 59 FR 42415, Aug. 17, 1994; 68 FR 35276, June 13, 2003; 90 FR 42803, Sept. 5, 2025]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
102
cases (
9 in the last 5 years), 1958–2026 · leading case:
United States v. Orozco, 191 F.3d 578 (5th Cir. 1999).
United States v. Orozco, 191 F.3d 578 (5th Cir. 1999).
· cites it 14× “§ 1357 (a)(3) and 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 . Although Orozco did not raise this issue below or on appeal, the dissent nonetheless argues that applying the Brignoni-Ponce factors to stops made outside the 100-mile border zone dilutes the protections afforded under the Fourth Amendment.”
Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, 413 U.S. 266 (1973).
· cites it 9× “The Attorney General's regulation, 8 CFR § 287.1 , defines "reasonable distance" as "within 100 air miles from any external boundary of the United States.”
North Am. Butterfly Ass'n v. Chad F. Wolf, 977 F.3d 1244 (D.C. Cir. 2020).
· cites it 4× “” 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 (c). DHS has not analyzed the environmental impact of border wall-related activities conducted at the Butterfly Center since 2017, cf.”
United States v. Peltier, 422 U.S. 531 (1975).
· cites it 8× “§ 1357 (a) (3), and administrative regulation, 8 CFR § 287.1 (a) (2) (1973), which had been continuously upheld until this Court's decision in Almeida-Sanchez .”
United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873 (1975).
· cites it 4× “8 CFR § 287.1 (a) (1975). The Border Patrol interprets the statute as granting authority to stop moving vehicles and question the occupants about their citizenship, even when its officers have no reason to believe that the occupants are aliens or that other aliens may be…”
Samayoa-Martinez v. Holder, 558 F.3d 897 (9th Cir. 2009).
· cites it 4× “First, Samayoa argues that Lomeli violated 8 C.F.R. §§ 287.1 (g), 287.5, and 287.8, which provide that only immigration officers who meet specified qualifications have the authority to arrest aliens suspected of immigration violations, and that the INS must be held responsible…”
United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. 543 (1976).
· cites it 2× “8 CFR § 287.1 (a) (1976). [9] As used in these statistics, the term "deportable alien" means "a person who has been found to be deportable by an immigration judge, or who admits his deportability upon questioning by official agents.”
United States v. John Lee Bowen, 500 F.2d 960 (9th Cir. 1974).
· cites it 8× “4 Two separate issues are presented here: (1) How does Almeida-Sanchez affect searches conducted at a fixed checkpoint? (2) If fixed-checkpoint searches, as well as roving-patrol searches, are included within the ambit of the Almeida-Sanchez ruling, should that ruling be applied…”
Melnitsenko v. Mukasey, 517 F.3d 42 (2d Cir. 2008).
· cites it 4× “§ 1357 (a)(3), also challenged the constitutionality of, inter alia, 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 (a)(2), which defines “reasonable distance” as “within 100 air miles from any external boundary of the United States.”
State v. Cardenas-Alvarez, 25 P.3d 225 (N.M. 2001).
· cites it 2× “See 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 (a)(2) (2001). Consequently, in addition to aliens who have recently crossed the Mexican border, individuals who reside or travel within 100 air miles of the border within the State of New Mexico, are also subject to such federal interrogation.”
United States v. Luis Cervantes, 797 F.3d 326 (5th Cir. 2015).
· cites it 2× ““reasonable distance” of the border); 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 (a)(2) (defining “reasonable distance” to mean 100 miles); see also Brignoni–Ponce, 422 U.”
United States v. Ortiz, 422 U.S. 891 (1975).
· cites it 2× “287 (a) (3) of the 1952 Immigration Act provides authority for an immigration officer within a reasonable distance from the border of the United States to board and search any conveyance or vehicle; "reasonable distance" as used in that section of the Act means within 100 air…”
United States v. Condrado Almeida-Sanchez, 452 F.2d 459 (9th Cir. 1972).
· cites it 5× “The officers had just received an information bulletin from the headquarters of the Border Patrol stating that aliens entering the United States illegally, had recently adopted the practice of sitting up directly behind the back seat of an automobile with their feet and legs…”
State v. Bolton, 801 P.2d 98 (N.M. Ct. App. 1990).
· cites it 2× “§ 1357 (a)(3) (1982) (Border Patrol agents may board and search railway cars and other vehicles "within a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States"); 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 (a)(2)(b) (1989) ("reasonable distance" means within one hundred air miles from an…”
United States v. Guiseppe Barbera, 514 F.2d 294 (2d Cir. 1975).
· cites it 4× “While the Attorney General’s regulations could have carefully defined or substantially prescribed the border search powers, to date they merely provide for a redelegation of the powers to “[a]ny immigration officer,” 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 (c), under standards which defined the term…”
United States v. Richard McDaniel, 463 F.2d 129 (5th Cir. 1972).
· cites it 2× “§§ 1357 , 1225; 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 . A customs officer is empowered to search vehicles upon the same standard, “reasonable cause to suspect,” although the customs statutes do not prescribe any distance limitations to the search.”
United States v. Felix Barron-Cabrera, 119 F.3d 1454 (10th Cir. 1997).
· cites it 2× “” It further found that the amount of such alien trafficking had gone up significantly from the previous year, and that this stretch of Highway 185 enabled aliens to avoid permanent checkpoints that were located on other north-south roads in the area.”
United States v. Carl Richard Maddox, 485 F.2d 361 (10th Cir. 1973).
· cites it 5× “1357 (a)(3) and 8 C.F.R. 287.1 unconstitutional. Coolidge held that the Fourth Amendment requires that a search warrant be issued by a "neutral and detached magistrate," and not by, for example, a state's attorney general.”
United States v. Charles Larue King, 485 F.2d 353 (10th Cir. 1973).
· cites it 2× “§ 1357 (a)(3), which allows Immigration Officers to stop and search any vehicle for aliens “within a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States.”
United States v. Rafael R. Martinez, Jr., 481 F.2d 214 (5th Cir. 1973).
· cites it 2× “§ 1357 and 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 . It will be noted that a specific geographic limitation has been placed upon immigration searches.”
United States v. Juan Manuel Rascon-Ortiz, & Edgar Rascon-Sotelo, 994 F.2d 749 (10th Cir. 1993).
“§ 1357 (a)(1) and (a)(3) (1988); see 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 (a)(2) (1992), and, therefore, all references in this opinion to checkpoints refer to checkpoints not located on the border! This is an important distinction as a citizen’s Fourth Amendment rights at a checkpoint located on…”
United States v. Ernest Wesley Miller, 492 F.2d 37 (5th Cir. 1974).
· cites it 2× “Consequently, when the Supreme Court struck down such searches made on less than probable cause, which were carried out under the statute and regulations, it establishes a new exclusionary rule which law enforcement officials could not have foreseen.”
Diaz-Bernal v. Myers, 758 F. Supp. 2d 106 (D. Conn. 2010).
“The plaintiffs allege that the supervisory defendants did not ensure that the raid officers had received this basic training, and thus the mandatory regulations were violated. Opp’n to U.S.’s Negligent Hiring Mot.”
United States v. Sergio Duran Badilla, 383 F.3d 1137 (10th Cir. 2004).
“See 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 (a)(2). Moreover, the Supreme Court in Martinez-Fuerte noted that the Code of Federal Regulations in force at the time authorized Border Patrol agents to inspect vehicles for aliens *1142 within one-hundred air miles of the border.”
United States v. Richard Glynn Byrd, 483 F.2d 1196 (5th Cir. 1973).
· cites it 2× “§ 1357 (a) and the accompanying regulation, 8 CFR § 287.1 (a)(2), which authorize immigration officials to conduct warrantless searches of vehicles for illegal aliens within one hundred miles of an international border.”
United States v. Joe Lucero Leyba, 627 F.2d 1059 (10th Cir. 1980).
“8 C.F.R. § 287.1 (a) (1980). Leyba interprets this Congressional authorization as foreclosing searches beyond the 100 mile limit.”
United States v. Bisram Sugrim, 732 F.2d 25 (2d Cir. 1984).
“” In my view neither the facts nor controlling law permit the majority to shrink Fourth Amendment protection so as to exclude Sugrim from its cover. The best that the government could argue was that this case “must fall under the umbrella of the border area concept.”
United States v. Rodolfo Venzor-Castillo, 991 F.2d 634 (10th Cir. 1993).
“” 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 (a)(2). The district court also found, when the defendant was encountered, he was driving on a highway during a summer afternoon when legitimate tourist traffic is greater than at other times of the year.”
Xin-Chang Zhang v. Slattery, 859 F. Supp. 708 (S.D.N.Y. 1994).
“8 C.F.R. § 287.1 ; International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union v.”
Gates v. Superior Court, 193 Cal. App. 3d 205 (Cal. Ct. App. 1987).
“” ( 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 (d).) Procedural History In December 1979, Grajeda and Rivera filed a complaint in six counts for injunctive, declaratory, and other relief, seeking, inter alia, a declaration the LAPD’s conduct violated their constitutional rights.”
United States v. Baca, 368 F. Supp. 398 (S.D. Cal. 1973).
“287(a)(3) of the 1952 Immigration Act provides authority for an immigration officer within a reasonable distance from the border of the United States to board and search any conveyance or vehicle; “reasonable distance” as used in that section of the Act means within 100 air…”
United States v. Gabriel, 405 F. Supp. 2d 50 (D. Me. 2005).
· cites it 2× “Federal regulations define “external boundary” to include “the land boundaries and the territorial sea of the United States extending 12 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States determined in accordance with international law.”
M, 8 I. & N. Dec. 24 (BIA 1958).
“1225(a), 1357 (b); 8 CFR 287.1(c) (1) and (3)). It has been the administrative practice to assign such examining officers to assist in exclusion cases from time to time.”
People v. Herrera, 12 Cal. App. 3d 629 (Cal. Ct. App. 1970).
“” 4 8 C.F.R. 287.1(a) provides: “(a) The phrase ‘within a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States,’ as used in section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act means within a distance of not exceeding 100 air miles from any external boundary of the…”
Morales v. Hamilton, 391 F. Supp. 85 (D. Ariz. 1975).
“Plaintiff seems to be saying on one hand the defendants should have known better than to rely on Ninth Circuit law and on the other hand they should have anticipated what the Ninth Circuit would do and should have relied on the anticipated ruling. Prior to the Supreme Court…”
Ortega-mojaro, 13 I. & N. Dec. 838 (BIA 1970).
· cites it 2× “Further, under 8 CFR 287.1(a) (1) and (2), the im- migration officer had authority to apprehend respondent within a "reason- able distance" of an external border of the United States, which is defined by those regulations as 100 air miles from a border.”
United States v. James Robert Peltier, 500 F.2d 985 (9th Cir. 1974).
· cites it 3× “' 8 C.F.R. 287.1(a)(2). 16 This statute and regulation must, however, be read in light of the Fourth Amendment; and when so understood, they merely delegate authority to be exercised by border-patrol agents in accordance with constitutional limitations.”
Jesse Drewniak v. P U.S. Customs & Border Prot. et al., 2021 DNH 071 (D.N.H. 2021).
“for the purpose of patrolling the border to prevent the illegal entry of aliens into the United States”); 8 C.F.R. § 287.1(a)(2) (defining “reasonable distance” as “within 100 air miles from any external boundary of the United States”).”
— 8 C.F.R. § 287.1(a) — 2 cases
People v. Herrera, 12 Cal. App. 3d 629 (Cal. Ct. App. 1970).
“” 4 8 C.F.R. 287.1(a) provides: “(a) The phrase ‘within a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States,’ as used in section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act means within a distance of not exceeding 100 air miles from any external boundary of the…”
Ortega-mojaro, 13 I. & N. Dec. 838 (BIA 1970).
“Further, under 8 CFR 287.1(a) (1) and (2), the im- migration officer had authority to apprehend respondent within a "reason- able distance" of an external border of the United States, which is defined by those regulations as 100 air miles from a border.”
— 8 C.F.R. § 287.1(a)(1) — 1 case
United States v. Gabriel, 405 F. Supp. 2d 50 (D. Me. 2005).
“Federal regulations define “external boundary” to include “the land boundaries and the territorial sea of the United States extending 12 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States determined in accordance with international law.”
— 8 C.F.R. § 287.1(a)(2) — 5 cases
United States v. Orozco, 191 F.3d 578 (5th Cir. 1999).
“§ 1357 (a)(3) and 8 C.F.R. § 287.1 . Although Orozco did not raise this issue below or on appeal, the dissent nonetheless argues that applying the Brignoni-Ponce factors to stops made outside the 100-mile border zone dilutes the protections afforded under the Fourth Amendment.”
United States v. John Lee Bowen, 500 F.2d 960 (9th Cir. 1974).
“4 Two separate issues are presented here: (1) How does Almeida-Sanchez affect searches conducted at a fixed checkpoint? (2) If fixed-checkpoint searches, as well as roving-patrol searches, are included within the ambit of the Almeida-Sanchez ruling, should that ruling be applied…”
Morales v. Hamilton, 391 F. Supp. 85 (D. Ariz. 1975).
“Plaintiff seems to be saying on one hand the defendants should have known better than to rely on Ninth Circuit law and on the other hand they should have anticipated what the Ninth Circuit would do and should have relied on the anticipated ruling. Prior to the Supreme Court…”
Jesse Drewniak v. P U.S. Customs & Border Prot. et al., 2021 DNH 071 (D.N.H. 2021).
“for the purpose of patrolling the border to prevent the illegal entry of aliens into the United States”); 8 C.F.R. § 287.1(a)(2) (defining “reasonable distance” as “within 100 air miles from any external boundary of the United States”).”
United States v. James Robert Peltier, 500 F.2d 985 (9th Cir. 1974).
“' 8 C.F.R. 287.1(a)(2). 16 This statute and regulation must, however, be read in light of the Fourth Amendment; and when so understood, they merely delegate authority to be exercised by border-patrol agents in accordance with constitutional limitations.”
— 8 C.F.R. § 287.1(c) — 1 case
M, 8 I. & N. Dec. 24 (BIA 1958).
“1225(a), 1357 (b); 8 CFR 287.1(c) (1) and (3)). It has been the administrative practice to assign such examining officers to assist in exclusion cases from time to time.”
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