CBP device inspections hit near-record levels

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents searched 52,080 electronic devices at the border from October 2025 to June 2026.

The number is 32% higher than the 39,251 searches recorded in the same period of the previous fiscal year. This pace puts the agency on track to match or exceed the 55,424 device inspections logged in all of fiscal 2025.

CBP classified 47,517 of these inspections as basic searches, which officers can conduct without reasonable suspicion. The remaining 4,564 were advanced searches, requiring officers to have reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity or a national security concern to analyze or copy data.

The agency did not release a breakdown of searches by location. It did not specify how many occurred at the Canadian or Mexican borders, or at airports versus land crossings. CBP also withheld data on the total number of travelers entering the country and the split between U.S. citizens and non-citizens.

Jessica Turner, a CBP public affairs officer, stated that device searches remain rare relative to total traffic. She noted that only 0.01% of the 419 million travelers who entered the country in 2025 had their devices searched. Turner said the inspections target digital contraband, terrorism-related content, and admissibility issues.

Esha Bhandari, director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, called for increased congressional oversight. She argued that the government tends to use its search powers in ways that harm traveler privacy. Bhandari said the lack of detailed public data makes it difficult to understand the scope of the increase, though she described anecdotes of travelers being questioned about political opinions and religious practices as troubling.

In January, CBP expanded its guidelines to include flash drives, SIM cards, GPS systems, drones, vehicle infotainment systems, and smart watches in the scope of device searches. The update also added transnational theft of proprietary information to the list of detectable crimes. Bhandari said these changes were minor procedural adjustments and suggested the rise in searches may stem from technological advances and the failure of federal courts to limit government authority.

Laura Dawson, executive director of the Future Borders Coalition, said the increase is hard to judge without knowing the total volume of crossings. She noted that the World Cup may have brought a diverse mix of visitors and that closer cooperation between Canadian and U.S. border services has increased scrutiny. Dawson added that one in 9,000 U.S. border crossings leads to an inspection, while one in 14,000 crossings leads to a search on the Canadian side.