Border Agents Are Scrolling Through More Phones Than Ever

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are searching many more phones at the border this year than in previous years. According to reports, some officers have even turned tourists away for liking or sharing memes about Donald Trump and J.D. Vance on social media.

A year ago, the CBP had conducted 47,000 searches of phones owned by those entering the country. However, according to statistics seen by Wired, border agents searching phones has jumped by 17% since then – a total of over 55,424 phones – with even larger increases in the past 6 months or so.

It’s also noted that the vast increase in inspections has coincided with a marked decrease in the number of tourists visiting the U.S. Potential visitors from Canada and Europe have repeatedly said they’re not going to the U.S. for the foreseeable future, and are instead looking at alternative vacation destinations (anecdotally, I have friends in Canada, the UK, and Europe – all frequent visitors to the U.S. – who have said they have no plans to come back to the United States until at least early 2029.)

Is 55,424 phone checks a lot?

Honestly, not really. Millions of people – both citizens and visitors – enter the U.S. every year. CBP spokesperson Rhonda Lawson told Wired that its most recent search numbers are “consistent with increases since 2021, and less than 0.01 percent” of travelers have devices searched.

“It may be helpful for travelers to know when they weigh the decision of what device to bring with them when traveling into the United States that searches of electronic personal devices are not new, the policy and procedures for searches have not changed, and that the likelihood of a search has not increased and remains exceedingly rare,” said Lawson.

It turns out that phone searches have been increasing for a while already.

From Wired:

Over the past decade, there has been an uptick in the number of phone and electronics searches taking place at the border—with the increases taking place throughout multiple political administrations. Statistics published by the CBP show there were 8,503 searches in 2015. Since 2018, the number of yearly searches has risen from around 30,000 to more than 55,000 this year. The new figures are the first time searches have surpassed 50,000.

Can border agents do that?

Absolutely.

According to the law, border agents are entitled to search the phones of anyone entering the United States of America.

All travelers crossing the United States border are subject to CBP inspection. On rare occasions, CBP officers may search a traveler’s mobile phone, computer, camera, or other electronic devices during the inspection process. These searches have been used to identify and combat terrorist activity, child pornography, drug smuggling, human smuggling, bulk cash smuggling, human trafficking, export control violations, intellectual property rights violations and visa fraud, among other violations.

That includes phones owned by green card holders and U.S. citizens.

What can they do?

Federal agents are authorized to conduct basic manual searches, such as reviewing the contents of a phone. More advanced searches use advanced tools to copy and analyze data – and those types of searches do require officers to have reasonable suspicion or cause. That being said, failure to comply, or what’s found on one’s phone, tablet, laptop, etc., can result in detentions.

From Wired:

Since the Trump administration took power in January, several travelers to the US have reported long detentions or alleged they were denied entry because of messages on their phones.

Yeah, but that’s just visitors, right?

To an extent. U.S. citizens have the absolute right to re-enter the country. However, they cannot refuse to be searched by CBP.

From the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU):

If you are a U.S. citizen, you need only answer questions establishing your identity and citizenship, although refusing to answer routine questions about the nature and purpose of your travel could result in delay and/or further inspection.

So IF you’re going to be entering or re-entering the country, take a REALLY good look at what’s on your social media, what’s saved on your devices, etc. And, if needed, make changes accordingly.

Keep your nose clean, travel friends.

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