U.S. Customs Warrantless Searches of Computers and Cellphones
May 23, 2019, 10:39 am
#46
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No problem. Not a US citizen. For those coming from countries requiring US visa, they are already subjected to interview in embassy where private financial details are (often) required. No one is forcing the passenger to come to the US.
May 23, 2019, 10:46 am
#47
Join Date: May 2019
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So if that was us citizen you would not been okay?
May 23, 2019, 11:03 am
#48
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And what if that person is corresponding with a US citizen? Conversations, by definition, have more than one participant. And there is both a legal and reasonable expectation of privacy in private conversations held between people on privately held devices on a privately owned communications network.
May 23, 2019, 11:45 am
#49
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On the fence and slightly leaning towards not allowing search of US citizen electronic devices. Definitely allow search on belongings.
I don't see a problem with that. The US citizen is not being examined at PoE. The "search" is being done to determine admissibility of the immigrant. For instance, if immigrant is stating they are coming in for tourism but correspondence on phone with the US citizen indicates US citizen is planning to pay the immigrant to work, I have absolutely no issues with that. I don't think it would make sense to have immigrant stating I correspond with US citizen thus you can't search my phone.
And what if that person is corresponding with a US citizen? Conversations, by definition, have more than one participant. And there is both a legal and reasonable expectation of privacy in private conversations held between people on privately held devices on a privately owned communications network.
May 23, 2019, 12:52 pm
#50
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On the fence and slightly leaning towards not allowing search of US citizen electronic devices. Definitely allow search on belongings.
I don't see a problem with that. The US citizen is not being examined at PoE. The "search" is being done to determine admissibility of the immigrant. For instance, if immigrant is stating they are coming in for tourism but correspondence on phone with the US citizen indicates US citizen is planning to pay the immigrant to work, I have absolutely no issues with that. I don't think it would make sense to have immigrant stating I correspond with US citizen thus you can't search my phone.
I don't see a problem with that. The US citizen is not being examined at PoE. The "search" is being done to determine admissibility of the immigrant. For instance, if immigrant is stating they are coming in for tourism but correspondence on phone with the US citizen indicates US citizen is planning to pay the immigrant to work, I have absolutely no issues with that. I don't think it would make sense to have immigrant stating I correspond with US citizen thus you can't search my phone.
Despite the supposed dangers of not giving every entrant an electronic colonoscopy, I don't believe that electronic data searches of portable devices should be permitted at PoE at all. There are many other tools available, most of which have been available since long before the advent of electronic communication, to determine someone's eligibility to enter the US.
Interdicting criminals, smugglers, human traffickers, terrorists, and people intending to illegally reside in the US is certainly an important function, but I don't believe that it's so important that it overrides the basic rights and freedoms of the American citizen. Even when you catch the bad guys with such distastable methods, you've achieved a Pyrrhic victory at best.
Jun 7, 2019, 12:05 pm
#52
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This article suggests where searches of cell phones are headed.
Give up your password or go to jail
Found this paragraph interesting:
Give up your password or go to jail
Found this paragraph interesting:
The rules on compelled decryption are more lenient at the U.S. border, where federal agents have given themselves wide authorityto search the phones of people entering the country ─ and have reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on third-party hacking tools.
Jun 7, 2019, 1:21 pm
#53
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I've never taken my cell out of the country before. If and when I do choose to travel with a phone, I will get a burner phone, just on principal. I won't bother to password protect it and if they want to keep it, they can. It's not like I would ever use anything that the government had confiscated and subsequently returned anyway.
That's easier for me than some folks. I don't use my phone for photos, I keep very little on my contact list - only numbers I rarely call. I prefer to memorize numbers - good mental exercise. My life isn't on my device.
That's easier for me than some folks. I don't use my phone for photos, I keep very little on my contact list - only numbers I rarely call. I prefer to memorize numbers - good mental exercise. My life isn't on my device.
Jun 7, 2019, 11:41 pm
#54
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100% freedom and 100% security are mutually exclusive and either extreme wouldn't be realistic.
Also, privacy is but the outcome of a subset of freedom and/or a precursor to freedom, not freedom itself. And the opposition to these electronic data searches is about the freedom to have privacy — and security — from government intrusion while crossing the US borders.
Increased freedom from government intrusion/power can mean increased security from government intrusion/power. Nothing mutually exclusive about that.
Jun 8, 2019, 12:52 am
#55
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I've never taken my cell out of the country before. If and when I do choose to travel with a phone, I will get a burner phone, just on principal. I won't bother to password protect it and if they want to keep it, they can. It's not like I would ever use anything that the government had confiscated and subsequently returned anyway.
That's easier for me than some folks. I don't use my phone for photos, I keep very little on my contact list - only numbers I rarely call. I prefer to memorize numbers - good mental exercise. My life isn't on my device.
That's easier for me than some folks. I don't use my phone for photos, I keep very little on my contact list - only numbers I rarely call. I prefer to memorize numbers - good mental exercise. My life isn't on my device.
Jun 8, 2019, 11:14 am
#56
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Jun 8, 2019, 11:21 am
#57
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If the government ever takes a device of mine, it really won't matter whether or not they ever return it. I will have had to replace the device while it was in government hands and I would never trust using it again after I got it back.
I think the very fact that I have so little on my phone will look suspicious to some government folks. You know, the same way some CBP folks really don't understand mileage runs or how a backpacker can travel so much without being a drug dealer. It isn't a huge deal, I just like to maximize my chances of relatively hassle-free travel.
Jun 8, 2019, 2:14 pm
#58
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Nov 13, 2019, 12:57 pm
#59
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Court rules against warrantless searches of phones, laptops
https://news.yahoo.com/court-rules-a...214210200.html
I suspect plenty of international travelers will be happy with this courts decision. No comment from DHS/ICE were not returned after the decision.
I know there have been older threads discussing border searches of electronic devices. Was unable to find them.
A federal court in Boston has ruled that warrantless U.S. government searches of the phones and laptops of international travelers at airports and other U.S. ports of entry violate the Fourth Amendment.
I know there have been older threads discussing border searches of electronic devices. Was unable to find them.
Nov 13, 2019, 1:14 pm
#60
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