WASHINGTON—Roberto Ramirez pulled up at a Border Patrol checkpoint near Amado, Arizona, on Christmas Eve. His hands were “shaking tremendously” as he held a cigarette, and he refused to make eye contact. His two passengers stared straight ahead, a Border Patrol agent recounted in a court document.
Ramirez, 21, told the agent that he was heading to Tucson, Arizona, and the two passengers were his friends. He was directed to a secondary screening area after the agent failed to get a direct answer about citizenship from the passengers.
