Trump Administration Sued Over Phone Searches at U.S. Border
- U.S. citizens say their devices were searched without warrants
- ACLU suit adds to list of legal challenges to Trump policies
Vehicles line up to enter the United States at the border crossing between Blaine, Washington and White Rock, British Columbia, Canada.
Photographer: Jeff Vinnick/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The Trump administration is increasingly allowing federal border agents to seize and search -- sometimes violently -- the mobile phones and laptops of thousands of U.S. citizens and lawful immigrants as they enter the country, two advocacy groups said in a lawsuit.
The searches at airports and land borders are being carried out without warrants in violation of the Constitution’s privacy and free-speech provisions, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a complaint filed Wednesday in federal court in Boston.