Customs and Border Protection agents searched nearly 15,000 devices from April through June of this year, a nearly 17 percent spike over the previous three-month high in 2022. "The real issue is the chilling effect it has on all travelers."

United States Custom and Border Protection officials have sweeping powers to search anyone’s phone when they are entering the country—including US citizens. Newly released figures show that over the past three months, CBP officials have been searching more phones and other devices than ever before.

From April through June this year, CBP searched 14,899 devices carried by international travelers, according to stats published on the agency’s website. While the figures aren’t broken down by device type, the CBP has the ability to search phones, computers, cameras, and other electronics. The April-June spike tops the previous highest quarterly figure of at least 12,766 devices, which were searched by CBP officials from January through March 2022, by 16.7 percent.

The increase in phone and device searches at the border comes as the second Trump administration takes aggressive actions on migration, with a vast increase in budget for the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and thousands of arrests taking place. Since the start of the year, people traveling to the US have reported long detentions, intrusive phone searches and allegedly being denied entry due to content on their devices. In recent months, some European travelers have canceled trips to the US, while the number of Canadian visitors to the US has dropped for seven consecutive months.

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    • kautau@lemmy.world
      10·
      1 day ago

      While that would occur in a perfect world, that’s not nearly as easy as many make it out to be.

      Very few people have the financial capability to just “get up and move,” and even if they can, they generally need a work visa sponsorship, which is no easy feat for many industries.

      Asylum is possible in very small circumstances, but you need to prove a significant burden of proof, and as of now, most countries are kissing trumps feet, not working to get US citizens out who want to leave.

      If you overstay your tourism or student or work visa in another nation you will be deported, ironic considering people with those same valid visas are being deported from the us

      You can’t just “apply to move” to another country in many situations without certain immigration requirements, most of which require you to have a job approved in another country before you move there

      A comment like “just get up and move somewhere else” has big Ben Shapiro energy

      https://youtu.be/0-w-pdqwiBw

      • Coolbeanschilly@lemmy.ca
        1·
        22 hours ago

        You’re the ones who ceded the Second Amendment to people like him, because you were too weak to maintain the eternal vigilance required to maintain a healthy society.

        Stop deflecting, and do something about it instead.

        • kautau@lemmy.world
          4·
          21 hours ago

          lol gotta love that jump from “why don’t you leave” to “why don’t you just suicide by police”

          • Coolbeanschilly@lemmy.ca
            2·
            20 hours ago

            “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” - Benjamin Franklin

            You gave up your freedoms, because you let the nutcases control the narrative around the Second Amendment. You let yourselves become weak, instead of warrior poets.

            Take your country back, instead of deflecting blame upon others for pointing out simple truths about your decadence and weakness.

      • Coolbeanschilly@lemmy.ca
        1·
        22 hours ago

        Or how about you and your fellow countrymen fix your mess, and stop making the rest of the world suffer for your hubris?

              • Coolbeanschilly@lemmy.ca
                1·
                15 hours ago

                No, the other part that should have applied to all peoples. The Declaration of Independence and the Second Amendment.

                Why are you being purposely obtuse? Obviously, when I talk about things about equality, I mean ALL PEOPLE.

                My wife is from Africa, and I work and study with Indigenous people. I know the history of my country, and I choose to put my best foot forward.

                Unlike you, a weakling and a coward, not willing to stand up to the racist bigots running America.