Can Border Patrol Officer check your phone or other devices?
US Customs and Border Guards can pass through your phone, including deleted items on your device.
- US customs and border security scrutinized social media and political views, increasing searches and detention of travelers entering the country.
- Travelers within 100 miles of US ports of entry have lost their rights to warrantless searches for electronic devices.
- Citizens and legal residents cannot deny entry to deny access to devices, but non-citizens may.
- Biometrics are less secure than device protection passwords at border intersections.
The growing reports of US customs and border security searches and detention raised concerns among travelers about what will happen when they try to enter the country.
For a long time, CBP had the authority to search the contents of electronic devices, verify someone’s identity or assess whether there is a national security risk. However, some immigration lawyers say such searches are more frequent under the Trump administration, but now they have been outrageous about social media profiles and political issues.
Travelers’ rights to warrantless searches have weakened within 100 miles of ports of entry, so everyone is questioned and electronic devices, including mobile phones, tablets and laptops, are searched by border investigators regardless of immigration status.
However, travelers can take steps to better protect digital privacy at their borders, such as turning off biometrics to unlock their phones. Here’s what you need to know.
Do I need to give my border agent a password?
Technically, no, but what happens next will depend on your immigration situation.
According to the US Civil Liberties Union knows your rights, US citizens and legal permanent residents cannot refuse to enter the country if they refuse to hand over or unlock their devices with a password. US airports and ports of entry. However, CBP can grab a phone and even keep it for weeks or months. (In this case, write down the officer’s name and badge number and ask for a receipt.)
However, non-citizen visa holders and tourists may be denied entry if they do not provide a password.
If you decide to unlock your phone with a password, enter it yourself instead of giving it to your agent. According to the ACLU website, “They may still require you to share it, but that’s a precautionary measure worth trying to take.”
Can CBP unlock mobile phones using biometrics?
It can occur due to the low safety of biometrics, but it is legally clear. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) believes that Face ID or Lock Devices fingerprints should be protected with a fifth amendment, which protects against self-inflict, but some courts have ruled otherwise. There are also cases where law enforcement forces people’s fingers to their phones to unlock them. So EFF can also occur in the Borders mentioned on its website. Agents can simply lift up the phone and unlock it easily.
The main point is that biometrics are not as secure as long passwords and encryption, so if you are crossing the border, it’s not the best idea.
How to turn off biometrics on your mobile phone
On Android:
- Go to Settings
- Depending on the manufacturer, go to the Security or Privacy section
- Find and switch to biometric authentication
On iPhone:
- Go to Settings
- Search Face ID & PassCode or Touch ID and PassCode
- Turn off your iPhone and unlock it and disable the function. This will set your phone to require a passcode to unlock it.
