DHS: Device searches improve safety

U.S. Customs and Border Protection processes more than a million people entering America every day as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s mission.

Just as Customs is charged with inspecting luggage, vehicles and cargo containers upon arrival to the USA, there are circumstances in this digital age when we must inspect an electronic device for violations of the law.

These electronic media searches have produced information used to combat terrorism, violations of export controls, and convictions for child pornography, intellectual property rights violations and visa fraud. This authority is critical to our mission, and Customs exercises it judiciously. Electronic searches affect less than one-hundredth of 1% of all arriving travelers.

The Supreme Court has explained that the “government’s interest in preventing the entry of unwanted persons and effects is at its zenith at the international border.” Still, Customs has proactively developed a disciplined policy with proper oversight for searches of electronic devices.

We made this policy available to the public in 2009. Courts have reviewed it. A federal court in Brooklyn, for example, concluded that Customs is “sensitive to the privacy and confidentiality issues posed by border searches of electronic devices.” No court has concluded that such searches require a warrant, and our use of this authority has been repeatedly upheld.

When border patrol demands your phone: Our view

This includes a review by the 4th and 9th Circuit Courts of Appeals, which approved the search of laptops at the border. Our policy has been subject to ongoing review by our offices of Privacy and Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and it reaffirms our commitment to protecting individuals’ rights while ensuring that officers can lawfully take the necessary actions to secure our borders and protect the American people.

Department of Homeland Security officers and agents are the nation’s front line against threats to our safety and prosperity. Our actions are consistent with our responsibilities to protect the homeland, enforce the law at our borders, and follow our oath to uphold our Constitution.

Joseph B. Maher is acting general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security.