Is it safe to travel with your phone right now?
In recent weeks, airport Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have drawn public outcry for denying travelers US entry based on searches of their phones. A doctor on an H-1B visa was deported to Lebanon after CBP found asympathetic photos and videosa of Hezbollah leaders. A French scientist was turned away after a device search unearthed messages criticizing the Trump administrationas cuts to research programs, which officers said aconveyed hatred of Trumpa and acould be qualified as terrorism.a As the administration ratchets up pressure to turn away even legal immigrants, its justifications are becoming thinner and thinner a but travelers can still benefit from knowing what are supposed to be their legal rights.
Your ability to decline a search depends on your immigration status a and, in some cases, on where and how youare entering the country. Courts across the country have issued different rulings on device searches at ports of entry. But no matter your situation, there are precautions you can take to safeguard your digital privacy.
CBP device searches have historically been relatively rare. During the 2024 fiscal year, less than 0.01 percent of arr …