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One of the most egregious violations of our rights is the concept of ‘civil asset forfeiture.’ Without evidence of a real crime, law enforcement can seize the cash or property of a person pretty much any reason, and then it’s on the victim to prove that cash/property wasn’t crime adjacent — an arduous process that’s often the punishment and leads to agencies padding their budgets with the ill-gotten gains.

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It should be prohibited under the Fifth Amendment. 

But it’s not, and this story demonstrates how it inspires bad actors for profit:

More from IJ:

The Justice Department has ordered the Drug Enforcement Administration to suspend its longstanding practice of searching passengers at airports — and seizing their cash — after the department’s internal watchdog raised concerns that it was fueling widespread civil rights violations and potential racial profiling.

In a management directive issued on Thursday, the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General said it had been hearing complaints about the searches for years — and had recently learned new information that suggested there were significant problems with them, including potential constitutional violations.

The IG found that the program ‘creates substantial risks that DEA Special Agents and Task Force Officers will conduct these activities improperly; impose unwarranted burdens on, and violate the legal rights of, innocent travelers.’ It also found that the searches ‘waste law enforcement resources on ineffective interdiction actions.’

There is legislation to stop this:

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The FAIR Act would ‘remove the profit incentive that drives so many federal forfeitures, end the federal ‘equitable sharing’ program that is used to circumvent state law protections for property rights, and eliminate the unfair administrative forfeiture process’ and was reintroduced in March 2023.

Basically.

Which is maddening.

Yeah, ‘problematic’ is a gross understatement.

YUP. Another job for DOGE.

And law enforcement are padding budgets with civil asset forfeiture. It needs to stop.

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Our sentiments exactly.

We hope so, too.

And even then, depending on the circumstances.

THIS.

Because it is.