Government Claims Unlimited Discretion to Look Through Your Laptop at the Border

Government Claims Unlimited Discretion to Look Through Your Laptop at the Border

March 12, 2011 – 1:43 pm
 

Last May, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents searched and took Pascal Abidor’s laptop and external hard drive when he was returning home to New York City from Montreal, Canada, where he attends graduate school. When his laptop and hard drive were returned to him 11 days later, Abidor discovered agents had opened numerous files, including personal photographs, a transcript of a chat with his girlfriend, copies of email correspondence, class notes, journal articles, tax returns, his graduate school transcript, and his resume.

This past fall, we, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys (NACDL) filed a suit on behalf of Abidor, the NACDL, and the National Press Photographers Association, challenging the government’s policy of searching and keeping laptops, cell phones, and other electronic devices at the border in the absence of any suspicion of wrongdoing. Today, we filed a brief asking the court to reject the government’s attempt to dismiss our suit.

As Abidor’s situation makes all too clear, in today’s world, the search of a computer or phone is akin to — if not more invasive than — the search of a home or office. But while the government ordinarily needs probable cause and a warrant issued by a judge to search a home or office, it claims the authority to look through your laptop or phone simply because you choose to cross the international border with them, and to keep them after you leave so it can continue searching them.

Read more: http://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech-technology-and-liberty/government-claims-unlimited-discretion-look-through-your-lap