What to know about travel bans and who they could affect
Immigration law allows presidents to restrict travel into the U.S., but President Donald Trump’s bans have been more sweeping than past presidents.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are increasingly searching electronic devices of travelers entering the country.
- These searches, while legal, are raising concerns about free speech and privacy rights.
- Travelers are advised to be mindful of the content on their devices and online profiles, and to understand their rights when it comes to border searches.
A recent string of legal U.S. residents being detained or deported following information found on their cell phones is worrying some travelers they’ll be stopped when traveling through the country’s border.
Earlier this month, Lebanese physician and assistant professor at Brown University Rasha Alawieh was flagged at Boston Logan International Airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She was returning from visiting family back home when officers found photos and videos on her cell phone pertaining to Hezbollah. Her visa was canceled, and she’s been deported back to Lebanon.
While not at the border, an Indian Columbia PhD student’s visa was revoked, and she self-deported to Canada after ICE raided her apartment for pro-Palestinian activity on her social media and participating in campus protests. Fellow student Mahmoud Khalil was a protest leader and is being held in immigration detention in Louisiana in what some Democratic Senators are calling an abuse of immigration laws. Most recently, a Georgetown University researcher from India who was recently accused of having connections to a Palestinian militant group is also facing deportation.
Under orders by the Trump administration to increase national security – including a full review of visa programs by the U.S. State Department and a potential travel ban on more than 40 countries – more travelers are facing scrutiny by immigration and border control officers, including a search through your electronic devices by CBP.
Up until this past January, these searches have been “almost negligible,” according to Susanne Heubel, senior counsel at New York-based immigration law firm Harter Secrest & Emery LLP. “I travel a lot, I have clients who travel a lot, of all sorts of nationalities and visa statuses, and nobody has ever complained about these searches until now,” she said.
Here’s what travelers should know.
Why does CBP search your devices?
Border searches of electronic devices, including cell phones, laptops and iPads, are meant to “enforce the law at the U.S. border and to protect border security,” according to the CBP website.
“Any traveler entering the U.S. is subject to CBP inspection,” CBP Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham said in a statement to USA TODAY. “CBP follows strict policies and directives when it comes to searching electronic media. These searches are rare, highly regulated, and have been used in identifying and combating serious crimes, including terrorism, smuggling, human trafficking, and visa fraud. Any claims of politically motivated searches are completely unfounded.”
According to Heubel, the officers are checking to ensure the claim you’re making about who you are and your visa status are true, so if you’re on a tourist visa but there’s suspicion that you may be working while in the U.S. From a national security perspective, they’re also seeing if there is any criminal data or activity on your devices.
However, recent cases have brought to light that public activity relating to free speech, like social media posts on political issues, are now being subject to searches and subsequent visa issues.
“In some ways, they might be, but there’s also another rule where if you show any indication that your conduct could be contrary to the interests of the United States in terms of security and foreign policy, a lot of this is sort of being mixed together right now,” Heubel said.
“People who are very loud and open about their opinions here are starting to get in trouble,” she added. “Now we’re starting to see what I would call really, not an assault, but an infringement on what I think every normal person would call free speech.”
What do CBP officers do when they search your devices?
There are two types of searches: basic and advanced, according to the CBP website. The former is manually going through the content of your devices, such as your photos or videos, including any deleted ones that are still on your phone.
An advanced search is when an officer is using external equipment to review, copy, or analyze content on your phone if “there’s reasonable suspicion of a violation of law enforced or administered by CBP or a national security concern.” However, approval must be obtained from a senior manager for this search to be conducted.
During these searches, your device is typically in airplane mode or offline, so the officer can only go through what’s on the hard drive or operating system. Heubel said they’re not allowed to go through your work email or whatever is stored in the Cloud. However, if your social media profiles are public, it could be easy for them to look at them on their end, she noted.
What are my rights during a device search?
The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizures, but the line gets blurred within 100 miles of international borders. At any port of entry, all of these searches are considered a “reasonable search,” so no warrant is required. “So, long story short, you have rights, but really, you don’t have any rights,” Heubel said.
If you agree to be searched, officers can go through your person and your luggage. If you are a U.S. citizen and disagree with being searched, they’re still obligated to let you into the country. However, for foreign nationals, even on approved visas, it’s iffier.
Heubel recommends travelers say something along the lines of: “I understand what’s going on. I’m just telling you, for the record, I’m not agreeing to this, but I’m letting you do it because I know that you have the right to search my device without a warrant and without probable cause.”
Here are some tips for travelers when it comes to CBP device searches:
- For the most part, if travelers are mindful of what’s on their phones and public online profiles, they should get through U.S. borders without issues. If you are cleaning up your phone, make sure to hard delete anything so it’s not just in the deleted folder, which is still accessible on your device.
- When you travel, bring as few devices as possible with you. Obviously, you’ll bring your phone with you, but leave your laptop at home if you can.
- If you’re a green card holder, do your research. “You have to have a good understanding of what the visa category that you’re coming in allows you to do and does not allow you to do,” Heubel said.
“Look, on any given day, there are still hundreds of thousands of people entering the U.S. successfully,” she said. “The stories that you’re hearing in the news are really ones that have some kind of special component to them … But if you are a common sense sort of careful traveler, you should not have any issues getting into the U.S.”
