Many Americans still burdened with constitutional rights

[james_davis_nicoll]

Using data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, the ACLU has determined that nearly 2/3 of the entire US population (197.4 million people) live within 100 miles of the US land and coastal borders.

The government is assuming extraordinary powers to stop and search individuals within this zone. This is not just about the border: This " Constitution-Free Zone" includes most of the nation's largest metropolitan areas.

Is the claim that "nearly 2/3 of the entire US population (197.4 million people) live within 100 miles of the US land and coastal borders" correct? That would seem to require that the rest of the country contains slightly over 1/3rd of the population and since my incredibly untrustworthy eye thinks the first area is much smaller than the second, it implies even lower population densities than I expected for the interior regions.

Comments

[spikebrennan.livejournal.com]

The ACLU's map is certainly wrong with respect to the states bordering Lake Michigan, such as Illinois. Lake Michigan lies entirely within the United States.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

But international freight and passenger traffic moves through it. Chicago, Milwaukee, Duluth-Superior, Green Bay, Traverse City and on and on...all port cities receiving and sending traffic between the USA, Canada and points elsewhere. Hence the inclusion.