‘Actual highway robbery’: Customs and Border Patrol boast about taking $70k cash from innocent civilian, refuse to give it back

Customs and Border Patrol have seized $70k in cash from an anonymous civilian, describing it as “unreported U.S. currency” and are refusing to give it back. As detailed in its own report, officers working in Brownsville, TX, were conducting an outbound vehicle inspection when they discovered “unreported bulk U.S. currency totaling $70,749”.

It's not a crime to carry over $10K, we just want to know about it. CBP officers in Texas seized over $70K of unreported U.S. currency. A driver was referred for secondary inspection, during which officers and a K9 unit found the money concealed in the vehicle.

Read more:… pic.twitter.com/H88Xd1fPQR

— CBP (@CBP) November 22, 2025

The CBP freely admits that “It’s not a crime to carry over $10K, we just want to know about it” and says that it’s now the responsibility of the person they stole it from to “prove that the source and intended use of the currency was legitimate”.

As you might expect, the reaction from regular Americans has been outrage. After all, if it’s not a crime to carry over $10k in cash, then what right does the government have to seize it? Doesn’t the rule of “innocent until proven guilty” hold fast?

"And if you tell us, we'll find another excuse to steal it from you."

— Earonn (@EaronnScot) November 25, 2025

“We just want to know about it”

— Totherepublic (@Totherepublic25) November 24, 2025

And that government overreach like this is why people are pushed over the edge:

I remember this…

— PetMurderHornet (@PetMurderHornet) November 25, 2025

Do you think this was legit?

The counter-argument is that the driver may have been in breach of federal laws preventing large sums of money from leaving or entering the country, and that perhaps the CBP’s post is omitting key details about the incident for legal reasons:

Countries have customs laws. If he brought it into this country or is taking it out and didn't notify the US government he can go to jail per Treasury Department regulations (31 CFR Chapter X).

— USA2025USA25 (@USA2025USA25) November 22, 2025

But, as the cash was simply seized and the CBP themselves underlined that this wasn’t a crime, it’s unclear exactly what they were thinking by boasting about it. This act, known as civil forfeiture, has proven highly controversial over the years, with cops able to withhold seized money from individuals if they argue they’re suspicious you’re going to use it for illicit means.

You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce how that power could be abused. So, here’s hoping we get more details of this incident, or it looks like a textbook case of highway robbery by the government.