Originally Posted by
jphripjah
Courts have not rendered the 4th Amendment moot. The statement by Ms. Callahan that "the Fourth Amendment, even for U.S. citizens, doesn't apply at the border" is a grossly inaccurate, lazy and untrue statement.
Law enforcement officers are prohibited by the Fourth Amendment from conducting unreasonable searches, either at the border or away from the border.
However, courts have ruled that certain types of searches are reasonable under the Fourth Amendment at the border, like searches of your luggage, and on the spot searches of any unlocked electronic devices.
The guy who refused to hand the CBP officer his phone was wrong, just like you would be wrong if you crossed a border and refused to hand the CBP officer your luggage.
However, there is no obligation to unlock your phone for them. No American should voluntarily unlock his or her phone for a CBP officer, just like no American should ever consent to a search of his house or car by a police officer.
These articles all refer to CBP officers "demanding" phone passwords, but the CBP internal records will say that in each case the traveler voluntarily entered the password of his own freewill.
The 4th might not be totally moot but it certainly seems that way. I honestly don't understand where the courts found the carve outs that allow any kind of search without cause.
I am of the opinion that if a person is going to be crossing the border, particularly on a regular basis, that having safe electronic devices that can be turned over without concern would be a good position to take. I would be very concerned about what spyware government could/would load on any device that is taken out of my sight. I certainly have nothing to hide but I also don't think government should have carte blanch to search my personal records without cause. Stated in the article I referenced, "They said if I need a lawyer, then I must be guilty of something," is concerning to me. I think most lawyers would recommend to not talk to police without counsel yet the police are assuming guilt if someone takes such a position. Also the police can be dishonest, lie, or do other things to make it seem that not cooperating fully is criminal in itself. The mood at the border seems to have moved to a very adversarial encounter in recent years at least to some number of citizens and visitors attempting to enter the country.
I think its time to reel in not only CBP but all other federal agencies.