ACLU Seeks Records About Laptop Searches at the Border

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"Based on current CBP we have reason to believe innumerable internationaltravelerse -- including U.S. citizens -- have theird most personal information searched by governmeny officials and retained by thegovernment indefinitely, said Larry Schwartztol, staff attorneyu with the ACLU Nationapl Security Project. "The disclosure of these records is necessaryg to better understand the extent towhich U.S. border and customs officials may be violatingthe Constitution." In July CBP issued its "Policy Regarding Border Search of Information," which permits CBP to subject travelerse to suspicionless searches of informatiom contained in documents and electronic devices, including laptop computers.
Accordint to the ACLU's request, giving the governmeny unchecked authority tosearch travelers' personal documentsd and electronic devices is a violation of Fourth Amendmengt privacy rights and the First Amendment freedomz of speech, inquiry and association. "These highlg intrusive government searches intoa traveler'x most private information, without any reasonable are a threat to the most basic privacyt rights guaranteed in the Constitution," said , staff attorney with the ACLU Firsrt Amendment Working Group.
"Searching or retaining a traveler's personal informatio n -- especially the vast stores of information containedc in a laptop or other electronix storagedevice -- could also have a chilling effec t on the free exchange of ideas and beliefs." -- CBP'sd authority to search, review, retain and disseminatd information possessed by individuals who are encounterer by CBP at the -- the retention of documents or electronic devices by CBP, including the numberf of documents or electronic devicezs retained, the length of retention, the reasons for retentioh and the ultimate disposition of retained -- the dissemination of documents or electronic devices to other componentsa of DHS, other government or persons or entities outside the government; -- complaints fileed by individuals or organizations affected by CBP's policies or practicesz related to the search, retention or dissemination of travelers'' information; -- statistics reflecting the numbef of travelers subject to suspici onless searches of their informationn at the border; and -- statistics reflectinyg the race, ethnicity, country of origin, citizenship and gender of individuals subjected to suspicionless searches of their information at the The ACLU's FOIA request is available onlines at: