Border agents search 52,080 traveler devices in first three quarters of 2026

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers inspected 52,080 electronic devices belonging to travelers from October 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. This nine-month figure marks a more than 32 percent jump from the 39,251 devices searched during the same stretch of the previous fiscal year. The current pace places the annual total near the record 55,424 devices examined in all of fiscal 2025.

The agency categorized the majority of these inspections as basic searches. A total of 47,517 devices underwent this type of check, which officers can conduct without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. An additional 4,564 devices were subject to advanced searches, a process that allows officers with reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity or national security concerns to analyze or copy file contents.

CBP officials did not provide a breakdown of where these searches took place. The data does not specify how many inspections occurred at the Canadian border versus the Mexican border. The agency also withheld details on the split between airports and land crossings. Furthermore, CBP did not disclose the total number of travelers entering the country during this period or the ratio of U.S. citizens to non-citizens subjected to these checks.

Jessica Turner, a CBP public affairs officer, stated that device searches affect a small fraction of the 419 million travelers who entered the country in 2025. In an emailed response, Turner noted that year-over-year, only 0.01 percent of travelers have their devices searched. She explained that the agency aims to detect digital contraband, terrorism-related content, and information relevant to admissibility decisions.

Esha Bhandari, director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, argued that the rising numbers require more congressional oversight. Bhandari said it is difficult to speculate on the reasons for the increase because the government does not explain the trend. She stated that when the government holds such power, it tends to use it to the detriment of travelers’ privacy. Her group has heard troubling anecdotes, including travelers being asked about political opinions, writing, or religious practice.

In January, CBP updated its guidelines to clarify that device searches cover items such as flash drives, SIM cards, GPS systems, unmanned aircraft systems, vehicle infotainment systems, and smartwatches. The update also added smuggling of narcotics, firearms, and other goods, as well as transnational theft of proprietary information, to the list of crimes these searches are meant to detect. Bhandari said these changes altered only a few procedures at the margins and suggested the increase may reflect advances in technology and the failure of federal courts to limit government authority.

Laura Dawson, executive director of the Future Borders Coalition, said it is hard to judge the increase without knowing specific locations and total crossing numbers. She noted that searches also occur at seaports and airports. Dawson suggested that the World Cup this summer may have brought a more diverse mix of visitors. She also pointed to greater focus on border security and closer cooperation between Canadian and U.S. border services, including on human smuggling and the Ryan Wedding case.

Dawson maintained that device searches remain rare despite alarming stories on social media. By her calculations, one in 9,000 crossings leads to a U.S. inspection, and one in 14,000 crossings leads to a search on the Canadian side. Canadian officials have searched a much smaller share of devices than their U.S. counterparts in recent years, and those numbers have been falling. The Canada Border Services Agency has not yet released its 2026 statistics.