With asset forfeiture, in effect your property is arrested, and property does not have civil rights.

One well known case in the early 90's was an old black gentlemen who owned a plant nursery, and was detained at an airport for the crime of being black and in possession of $30,000. I think the story was featured on 60 Minutes and the NY Times.

The guy was the son of a sharecropper, was illiterate, did not use checks or credit cards. He had flown from his home to Texas every year with a bag of money to buy plants to ship north to sell after becoming too old to drive. He wasn't committing a crime, so he wasn't arrested -- but his money was kept as it was considered suspicious by the Federal authorities. It was a catch-22 situation, as litigating against the Feds will cost alot more than $30k.