4 weeks ago
4/26: CBS Morning News
Washington — A group of senators is pressing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for much accusation connected separator officers' wide authority to hunt travelers' phones and different physics devices without a warrant aliases suspicion of a crime, renewing scrutiny of whether nan U.S. authorities is infringing connected Americans' Fourth Amendment authorities against unreasonable searches and seizures.
In a letter sent to Mayorkas connected Thursday, apical Democrats and Republicans connected nan Senate Homeland Security and Senate Finance committees asked nan section to little their unit wrong nan adjacent 2 weeks connected what information is retained from these searches and really nan U.S. authorities is utilizing nan data.
"We are concerned that nan existent policies and practices governing nan hunt of physics devices astatine nan separator represent a departure from nan intended scope and exertion of separator hunt authority," Sens. Gary Peters of Michigan, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mike Crapo of Idaho wrote successful nan four-page letter, referring to an objection to nan Fourth Amendment.
The expertise of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to inspect devices astatine nan country's separator crossings, airports and seaports "without a warrant, and nether different ineligible standards than those applicable to rule enforcement agencies without separator hunt authority, is distinct," nan senators said. CBP and ICE are some agencies wrong DHS.
DHS did not respond to a petition for comment.
CBP defended nan longstanding believe arsenic basal to protecting nationalist information successful a 2018 directive that established guidelines for nan searches. Without probable origin to prehend a person's instrumentality and transcript its data, nan agency "may clasp only accusation relating to immigration, customs and/or different enforcement matters," it said.
The guidelines licence officers to behaviour a "basic search" without a warrant aliases immoderate suspicion that nan traveler has committed a crime. Those searches see manually scrolling done a person's contacts, telephone logs, messages, photos, videos, almanac entries and audio files, according to a CBP analysis. But anyone who refuses to manus complete their devices pinch nan passcodes tin person them seized for days.
If location is "reasonable suspicion of activity successful usurpation of nan laws" aliases "a nationalist information concern," officers tin behaviour an "advanced search," pinch support from a supervisor, and transcript nan contents of nan device, nan directive said. The accusation is past stored successful a database known arsenic nan Automated Targeting System, according to nan analysis.
Between October 2018 and March 2024, CBP conducted much than 252,000 searches, a mini fraction of nan hundreds of millions of travelers processed astatine U.S. ports of entry, according to nan agency, which does not specify really galore devices had their information uploaded to nan database.
Senators person asked Mayorkas for a breakdown of nan inspections from nan past 5 years and whether immoderate were conducted pinch a warrant, pinch consent from nan traveler aliases pursuant to nan "national information concern" exemption. They besides want to cognize really galore U.S. citizens, ineligible imperishable residents and non-U.S. persons had their devices searched.
The missive includes a number of questions astir really nan information is retained, for really long, if searches are influenced by extracurricular agencies who would different beryllium required to get a warrant and whether searches of nan database are tracked.
The senators besides noted that a document that is fixed to travelers to pass them of nan hunt process "does not intelligibly authorities whether travelers person nan correct to garbage consent for nan hunt without ineligible penalty, different than instrumentality detention."
Wyden and Paul introduced legislation successful 2021 that would person required separator officials to get a warrant earlier searching a device, but it ne'er made it retired of nan Senate Judiciary Committee.
In 2022, Wyden slammed CBP for "allowing indiscriminate rifling done Americans' backstage records." After a CBP briefing, Wyden said travelers had been pressured to unlock their devices without being informed of their authorities and nan contents of their phones had been uploaded to nan database, wherever it is saved for 15 years and accessible to 2,700 DHS personnel.
CBP told Wyden successful consequence that it "conducts separator searches of physics devices successful accordance pinch statutory and regulatory authorities, arsenic good arsenic applicable judicial precedent."
- In:
- Senate Homeland Security Committee
- United States Department of Homeland Security
- Alejandro Mayorkas
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Caitlin Yilek
Caitlin Yilek is simply a authorities newsman astatine cbsnews.com and is based successful Washington, D.C. She antecedently worked for nan Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a personnel of nan 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship pinch nan National Press Foundation.
