US border agents searched 52,080 phones and laptops this year

US border officers searched 52,080 electronic devices in the first nine months of fiscal year 2026. This figure represents a 32 percent increase compared to the same period in the previous year, when 39,251 devices were inspected. The new total is nearly equal to the record 55,424 searches conducted across the entirety of fiscal 2025.

The data covers the period from October 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, broke down the inspections into two categories. Officers performed 47,517 basic searches, which they can conduct without reasonable suspicion. The remaining 4,564 were advanced searches, allowing agents to analyze or copy device contents based on suspicion of unlawful activity or national security concerns.

The agency did not provide a geographic breakdown of these inspections. CBP declined to state how many searches occurred at the Canadian border versus the Mexican border. It also withheld data on the split between airport and land crossing inspections. Furthermore, the agency did not release figures on the total number of travelers entering the country during this period, nor did it specify how many searches involved US citizens compared to non-citizens. These details typically appear in annual reports.

Jessica Turner, a CBP public affairs officer, addressed the scale of the program in an email. She noted that in 2025, device searches affected a small fraction of the 419 million travelers who entered the US. Turner stated that year-over-year, only 0.01 percent of travelers have their devices searched. She said the inspections aim to detect digital contraband, terrorism-related content, and information relevant to admissibility.

Esha Bhandari, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, called for more congressional oversight. Bhandari said it is difficult to speculate on the reasons for the increase because the government does not explain it. She argued that when the government holds this power, it tends to use it to the detriment of travelers' privacy. Bhandari described the aggregate data as limiting and cited anecdotes from her group, including travelers being asked about political opinions, writing, or religious practice.

In January, CBP updated its guidelines to expand the scope of device searches. The new rules include flash drives, SIM cards, GPS systems, unmanned aircraft systems, vehicle infotainment systems, and smartwatches. The update also added smuggling of narcotics, firearms, or other goods, transnational theft of proprietary information, and digital contraband to the list of detectable crimes. Bhandari said these changes altered only a few procedures at the margins. She suggested the rise in searches 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 the increase is hard to judge without knowing where searches occurred or how many people crossed. Dawson noted that searches also take place at seaports and airports. She pointed to the World Cup earlier this summer as a potential factor bringing a more diverse mix of visitors. She also cited greater focus on border security and closer cooperation between Canadian and US border services, including on human smuggling and the Ryan Wedding case. Dawson described having more scrutiny at the border as positive in many ways.

Dawson emphasized that device searches remain rare despite alarming stories circulating on social media. Her figures indicate that one in 9,000 crossings leads to a US inspection, while 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 US counterparts in recent years, and those numbers have been falling. The Canada Border Services Agency has not yet released its 2026 statistics.