Justices Unsure of Constitutional ‘On-Off Switch’ at U.S. Border (1)

Some justices seemed unsure of whether the U.S.-Mexican border provides an “on-off switch” for holding federal officials accountable for constitutional violations, as they considered for the second time a lawsuit over the fatal shooting of a Mexican teen by a U.S. border patrol agent who fired across the border from El Paso, Texas, in 2010.

Several of the justices were concerned that allowing a suit here could have serious foreign policy consequences.

Following an investigation here, the United States found the border patrol agent had acted lawfully and refused to extradite the agent to Mexico to face criminal charges. But ...