No Warrant Necessary to Seize Your Laptop at Border Crossings

No Warrant Necessary to Seize Your Laptop: Border Patrol Has the Authority to Seize and Copy Electronic and Printed Materials at Border Crossings)
Subject: No Warrant Necessary to Seize Your Laptop
Date: Wed, 06 Jan 2010 01:59:00 -0500
From: Brian Turner, Chair, AAUP Government Relations Committee

In early 2008 it became apparent that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had implemented a new and invasive policy giving U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents the authority to seize and copy electronic and printed materials at U.S. border crossings without any suspicion of wrongdoing by the traveler. Despite the subsequent change of administration, the department has not reinstated the previous policy, which required agents to have individualized suspicion before seizing or searching the contents of laptops and other electronic devices.

The AAUP joined with other civil liberties organizations in a May 2008 letter to Congress on this issue, and first alerted AAUP members in an October 2008 e-newsletter. We continued to press the issue through a letter from General Secretary Gary Rhoades to newly confirmed DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano in March 2009, and by joining a number of organizations calling on Congress in October 2009 to increase its oversight of the DHS Chief Privacy Officer.

The government’s continued authority to search personal and private data without individualized suspicion could have serious consequences for faculty members who travel in order to teach, speak, conduct research, and collaborate with colleagues around the world. In light of this, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has requested the AAUP’s assistance once again in gathering information about how this policy is being applied to traveling faculty members.

Please take a moment to review the questions below. If your answer to any of the questions is yes, please briefly describe your experience and e-mail your response to laptopsearch@aclu.org. (You may also copy your response to John Curtis, AAUP Director of Research and Public Policy, at jcurtis@aaup.org.) The ACLU and AAUP promise confidentiality to any faculty member responding to this request.

(1) When entering or leaving the United States, has a U.S. official ever examined or browsed the contents of your laptop, PDA, cell phone, or other electronic device?

(2) When entering or leaving the United States, has a U.S. official ever detained your laptop, PDA, cell phone, or other electronic device?

(3) In light of the U.S. government’s policy of conducting suspicionless searches of laptops and other electronic devices, have you taken extra steps to safeguard your electronic information when traveling internationally, such as using encryption software or shipping a hard drive ahead to your destination?

(4) Has the U.S. government’s policy of conducting suspicionless searches of laptops and other electronic devices affected the frequency with which you travel internationally or your willingness to travel with information stored on electronic devices?

The AAUP Government Relations Committee will continue to inform AAUP members and all faculty and academic professionals of important policy matters and advocate on their behalf. We appreciate your advocacy and your responses.

Brian Turner, Randolph-Macon College (Virginia) and Chair, AAUP Government Relations Committee

For a deeper understanding of the Department of Homeland Security’s policy please see the below links to press coverage about and AAUP actions on this issue.


Letter from General Secretary Gary Rhoades to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, March 20, 2009

Expanded Powers to Search Travelers at Border Detailed Washington Post, 9/23/08

Travelers' Laptops May Be Detained At Border: No Suspicion Required Under DHS Policies Washington Post, 8/1/08

Letter to House Committee on Homeland Security, May 1, 2008

[emphasis added]
[photo|links added]