Do immigration officers have the authority to inspect your electronic devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops)?

6/21/2021 1:39:52 PM

of course they do have the authority to do that… and they warn you in the border protection web about it:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is tasked with protecting our nation’s borders and enforcing numerous laws at U.S. ports of entry. CBP’s ability to lawfully inspect electronic devices crossing the border is integral to keeping America safe in an increasingly digital world.

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 and other electronic devices during the inspection process. These searches have resulted in evidence helpful in combating terrorist activity, child p**nography, drug smuggling, human smuggling, bulk cash smuggling, human trafficking, export control violations, intellectual property rights violations and visa fraud.

the bold emphasis is mine.

if you require more info, please check the official post here:

6/21/2021 8:19:46 AM

Yes, they can look at their device. Where it’s not explicitly written into the law, they can still refuse you entry if you don’t do whatever it is they want you to do – show your naked pictures, make ten jumping jacks, whatever they feel like.

For those of us working with confidential information professionally, it’s long been known that if you travel across an international border (except within the Schengen zone), you upload all your confidential data to your (trusted and encrypted) cloud/fileserver/whatever and securely delete it from the device you are taking with you.

A few especially paranoid people I know completely wipe their device and install a fresh OS, then once inside the country, if it left their presence for even a minute, they will wipe and reinstall again, and then download all the data from an encrypted cloud storage.

6/20/2021 4:14:48 AM

If you have information on your phone you or your employer should be seriously worried about, you need to get a new phone for the trip. For example, if you’re working in a high-tech, highly competitive industry. If not, play the odds and take the miniscule chance that someone will look. They can open the suitcases with your underwear, too. Not a nice feeling, but, well, not a disaster, either.

6/19/2021 3:45:38 AM

The answer to the title ("Can immigration authorities inspect your devices?") is yes, they can. If you refuse, or refuse to give them the password, they can refuse your entry into the country.

The main question text goes on to express your discomfort at that possibility. Given the number of travelers and the number of searches, the chance that your devices will be searched is vanishingly small…but it is not zero.

The answer to your concern is up to you and your risk tolerance. If you are unwilling to accept the risk, then either do not travel across international borders, or if you do travel across international borders, do not carry devices.

6/19/2021 2:46:07 AM

Unless you somewhat raise some flags somewhere in the system, the risk is very minimal.

According to this :

"…The 19,033 travelers who had their devices searched in 2016 were among 391 million travelers to the US that year…."

That’s about 0.0049%, or one traveler in every 20,500.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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