An examination of US border device search policies reveals that over 36,000 non-US citizens faced inspections in 2024, with differing legal outcomes for citizens and foreign travelers.
While basic checks involve manual inspection, advanced searches may connect external tools to review data, though live cloud access is restricted.
These checks can be divided into simple ones, which involve manual inspection, and advanced ones, where authorities connect other devices to view or copy data. Authorities are not able to access data that is live on the internet during the check.
What happens in case of refusal of inspection?
American citizens have the right to return to their country. If they refuse to cooperate with a device check, authorities can let them go home, but keep their phone.
Conversely, foreign travelers who refuse to comply may not be admitted to the country. According to the agency, if a device is password-protected and the traveler refuses to unlock it, they may face denial of entry, detention or other actions, as well as greater processing delays.
The Samuel Tunick court case
An Atlanta activist, Samuel Tunick, has been indicted by a federal grand jury and faces up to five years in federal prison. He is accused of knowingly destroying data on his phone by using a passcode to prevent government agents from seizing it.
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His lawyers argue that Tunick was targeted for detention even before he arrived at the airport and that his constitutional rights were violated.
Precautions for travelers
To protect personal data, experts recommend certain actions before traveling:
- logout from accounts,
- creating online backups,
- thorough cleaning of devices and deletion of messages,
- hide applications,
- disabling fingerprint or face unlock,
- understanding remote deletion capabilities.
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