DEA, Border Patrol Search Greyhound Buses, Question Passengers

According to a report in Consumer Affairs (June 28, 2018), during an hour-long layover at the Greyhound bus station a DEA agent was  provided a passenger “manifest” (by Greyhound) listing everyone who was on the bus that day, where they were headed, and whether they paid Greyhound via cash or credit card. The DEA agent also had a chance during the layover to open the luggage bin and study the passenger's checked bags. As the bus was preparing to depart the DEA agent, "dressed in plain clothes, made his way down the aisle, quizzing people about their travel plans."
  
As a private company, Greyhound is under no obligation to let cops on its buses without a warrant, legal experts say, but that doesn’t appear to be a problem. “Cops routinely board Greyhound buses and ask passengers to search their luggage. If a person consents to the search, there is no fourth amendment protections relating to the search.”

Greyhound, being a private company, still does not have to allow DEA, Border Patrol, or other government agents inside its buses without a warrant, according the ACLU. The CLU has documented recent reports of Border Patrol agents questioning Greyhound passengers in Vermont, California, Washington, Arizona, and Michigan.
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I discussed these searches briefly when posting about the Massive U.S. Border Zone, in mid-May. Law enforcement (DEA, Border Patrol, and others) has a job to do, but law enforcement actions must never be allowed to proceed to the point where they violate our civil liberties. Obtaining passenger manifests and inspecting bags without a warrant, questioning passengers about their travel plans, and as we saw in the report from Consumer Affairs removing passengers from the bus if they don't answer questions or "consent" to searches of their luggage is going too far.