SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Wash. Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit in Spokane County against Greyhound Lines for allowing U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to perform "warrantless" immigration checks on its buses at the Spokane Intermodal Station, according to the filing.
Greyhound had previously announced they would no longer allow CBP agents on board without warrants or probable cause, but the lawsuit alleges those searches are still happening.
"The immigration enforcement, sweeps at issue involve multiple armed CBP 24 agents boarding Greyhound buses that travel purely domestic routes and questioning 25 unsuspecting passengers regarding their citizenship or immigration status," the filing reads.
The lawsuit argues that Greyhound's actions violate the Washington consumer protection act, and the Washington law against discrimination.
The lawsuit also alleges that Greyhound misrepresents it's service by not notifying customers about the immigration sweeps, resulting in "service disruptions and consequences to its passengers."
On its website, Greyhound promises a “safe and reliable bus ride” and “no discrimination with respect to prices or carriage.”
The AG Ferguson claims the company has violated those promises by allowing Customs and Border Patrol to conduct searches on its buses without valid judicial warrants or probably cause that "any specific individual has violated federal immigration law or any law at all."
This past January, comedian Mohanad Elshieky filed a complaint against U.S. Customs and Border patrol over an incident that occurred after an immigration sweep on a Greyhound bus at the Spokane Intermodal Station in early 2019.
Elshieky was forced off a Greyhound bus by CBP, who then interrogated Elshieky for 20 minutes and accused him of faking his identification.
