· Billings Gazette · By Associated Press · From the Border Crossing Law Firm media archive.
The Associated Press reports that MIJA sued the Montana Highway Patrol for allegedly detaining Hispanic motorists after routine traffic stops to investigate their immigration status. The story describes U.S. citizen Jose Rios-Diaz's prolonged roadside questioning and the suit's request for a federal declaration that the patrol's policy was unconstitutional.
The case brought national constitutional principles into a distinctly Montana setting: long rural drives, ordinary traffic stops, and a state patrol accused of treating Latino appearance as a reason to investigate immigration status.