Although summer travel is heating up, anyone traveling with cash may want to think twice about flying in and out of Michigan. Late last month, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed two bills (HB 4631 and HB 4632) that expand civil forfeiture at airports, making it much easier for law enforcement to seize—and permanently keep—cash and other valuables from travelers.
“Allowing authorities to take air travelers’ cash without a criminal conviction, simply because they have a large sum of money, is a blatant violation of their rights,” said Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Dan Alban, who co-leads IJ’s National Initiative to End Forfeiture Abuse. “This will lead to innocent people losing their money and is a massive step in the wrong direction by Michigan lawmakers.”