US custom Border protection officials have sweeping powers Search for anyone When they enter the country – including American citizens. The newly released figures indicate that during the past three months, CBP officials have been looking for more phones and other devices more than ever.
From April to June this year, CBP searched 14,899 devices carried by international travelers, according to the statistics published on the agency website. Although the numbers are not divided according to the type of device, CBP has the ability to search for phones, computers, cameras and other electronics. The Spike altitude from April to June tops the highest previous quarterly number of at least 12,766 devices, which was searched by CBP officials from January to March 2022, by 16.7 percent.
The increase in searches in the phone and devices on the border comes as the second Trump administration takes aggressive measures on immigration, with a significant increase in budget For the Ministry of Internal Security and enforcement of immigration and customs and Thousands of arrests It is happening. Since the beginning of the year, the people have been informed of traveling to the United States Long arrestsChilde searches, preferably Entry because of Content on their devices. In recent months, some European travelers The canceled trips to the United StatesWhile the number of Canadian visitors to the United States decreased Seven consecutive months.
“The real issue is the kindness that he is causing on all travelers,” says Ishha Bahandari, Deputy Director of Discourse, Privacy and Technology in the Civil Liberties Union. Bhandari adds that anyone can undergo potential research in the device, including those who criticize management or lawyers and journalists who may have sensitive information about their devices. “This is basically unlimited authority who claim themselves to search for travelers without an order to search for the full information that people hold,” says Bhandari.
CBP data shows that there is an increase in searches for phone and electronics over the past decade, through various departments. According to the agency statisticsIt is published using the fiscal year working from October to September, was there 8,503 searches In 2015, by 2018, this number rose to 33,296 searches for the deviceAnd the last full year of available data, fiscal year 2024, was there 46362 searches.
The latest quarterly statistics appear during the past three months of 2025 13,824 “basic” searches and 1075 “advanced” searches. The basic searches can include the border agent manually fun through a person’s phone and lose its contents. This means that the agent may be able to find some information on the device, but it may not have time or the ability to perform a deep examination of what is included in the messages or buried in the photo rollers. Meanwhile, advanced searches include a more interfering approach: connecting forensic tools to the device to extract huge data operations from data. Although searches in the devices in general, the number of advanced searches has been relatively fixed over the past 21 months.
CBP did not immediately respond to WIRED request for comment. “The number of passengers crossing the border search experience for their electronic devices is small,” says CBP. It says that last year, when the data is available, “less than 0.01 percent” of international travelers searched their devices.
Anyone who enters the United States – from citizens to temporary visa holders – can have it Phones or electronics were searched By CBP employees. Throughout the country, the border areas are usually outside the protection of the fourth amendment that require orders to search for devices by officials. On his website, CBP says People must provide their devices “in case it allows the device to be examined and its contents.” In short, this means a non -believer and perhaps giving password to border agents.
If an American citizen or a green card holder rejects the search, they cannot – at least in theory – deprive the country. However, their devices may be temporarily seized, and they may be subject to additional interrogation. Foreign visitors can face detention or deportation to refuse to search.
Although advanced searches constituted only a small percentage of searches for the phone in recent years, it can be controlled on change with the progress of the second Trump administration. like Wire mentioned at the beginning of JulyCustoms and border protection purchases advanced digital forensic tools to process data from electronic devices. CBP currently contains multiple contracts for Cellebrite forensic tools.
in Request informationAnd published in June and updated in July, CBP said he was looking for more tools that can process data from passengers and help border agents to understand them. One examples included the ability to “search a list of text messages to find patterns or” hidden language “in suspected communications that may not be clear at first sight.”
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