Criminal Defense Attorney in Boca Raton, Florida
Can federal agents search your phone at the airport without a warrant, and what rights do you have during a Homeland Security or customs search?
Can federal agents search your phone at the airport without a warrant, and what rights do you have during a Homeland Security or customs search?
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So yes, agents at the border, Homeland
Security or Customs and Border Patrol
has a completely different set of rules
when it comes to how far they can push
the boundaries of a constitutional
search and seizure. While you’re in the
airport, you are not subject to your
traditional rights under the Fourth
Amendment to uh to avoid an unreasonable
search and seizure. While you’re at the
airport, based on a specific set of laws
that have been established, the Customs
and Border Patrol and Homeland Security
have been given a very, very wide net of
powers to stop individuals on very
minimal suspicion and sometimes
completely randomly in order to try to
get access to their devices. You are
allowed to say no. You absolutely are
allowed to say no. You do not have to
give them your password. That is not one
of the requirements. However, failing to
do so can have negative repercussions as
far as your ability to freely travel
internationally. If you had global
entry, you may lose your global entry
given a situation like this. So, what
they’re doing is they’re using this
expansive power that the government has
given them to protect the borders. They
are not technically investigating
crimes. They are protecting our borders.
So they are not subject to the
traditional constitutional amendments
like the fourth amendment uh while you
are in the vicinity of the airport. So
you do have the right to say no. They
have the ability if you say no to come
and get a warrant if they have minimal
suspicion. They are allowed to go
through your phone and your device if
they can access it or if the individual
gives them their password. Now, there is
establishing an emerging case law
regarding this, saying phones these days
have so much private information that
this law needs to change because it’s
not just a flick through looking for
pictures of drugs or communications with
minors abroad. Um, they’re going to see
a lot of very personal information that
even at the border they should not be
entitled to. So, the law is moving in
the right direction, but as of right
now, people need to know that the
traditional constitutional guarantees
people have to have freedom over their
property and to not be harassed by law
enforcement widely do not exist at the
border.
Boca Raton, FL criminal defense attorney David Tarras talks about whether federal agents can search your phone at the airport without a warrant, and what rights you have during a Homeland Security or customs search. He explains that the agents at the border, such as Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, operate under a different set of rules when it comes to search and seizure. At airports, travelers are not fully protected by the traditional rights guaranteed under the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures. Instead, established laws grant border agents broad authority to stop individuals with minimal suspicion—or even randomly—to access their devices.
Although individuals are not legally required to provide passwords, refusal can lead to negative consequences, such as loss of Global Entry privileges or increased travel restrictions. Agents may also obtain a warrant if minimal suspicion exists. While their actions are framed as measures to protect national borders rather than criminal investigations, they still allow access to sensitive personal information stored on devices.
Emerging case law, however, is beginning to challenge these practices, arguing that modern phones contain extensive private data that should not be subject to such broad searches. While the legal landscape is evolving, travelers must understand that constitutional protections against broad law enforcement intrusion are significantly limited at U.S. borders.
