U.S. Border Device Inspections Jump 32 Percent in 2026
CBP officials examined 52,080 electronic devices in the first three quarters of the fiscal year, a sharp increase over the prior period.
By Alina Carter ·
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers searched 52,080 traveler electronic devices in the first three quarters of fiscal year 2026. This figure represents a 32 percent increase over the 39,251 devices examined during the same period last year. The data covers the nine-month stretch from October 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.
The agency classifies 47,517 of these inspections as basic searches. Officers can conduct basic searches without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. An additional 4,564 were advanced searches, which require reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity or national security concerns. Advanced searches allow officers to analyze or copy device contents.
CBP withheld specific data on where these searches occurred. The agency did not provide a breakdown between the Canadian and Mexican borders or between airports and land crossings. It also omitted the total number of travelers who entered the country during this period and the split between U.S. citizens and non-citizens. These details are typically included in annual reports.
Jessica Turner, a CBP public affairs officer, stated that device searches affect a small fraction of travelers. In an emailed response, she noted that only 0.01 percent of travelers have their devices searched year over year. Turner said the searches 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 greater congressional oversight. She said the government’s lack of explanation makes it difficult to determine the reasons for the increase. Bhandari argued that the aggregate data obscures what is happening at the border. She described anecdotes from travelers as troubling, including questions 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 smart watches. The agency also added smuggling of narcotics, firearms, and transnational theft of proprietary information to the list of detectable crimes. Bhandari said these changes altered only a few procedures at the margins.
Laura Dawson, executive director of the Future Borders Coalition, noted that the increase is hard to judge without location and volume data. She suggested that the World Cup this summer may have brought a more diverse mix of visitors. Dawson also pointed to closer cooperation between Canadian and U.S. border services on human smuggling and the Ryan Wedding case. She said having more scrutiny at the border is a positive in many ways.
Dawson said device searches remain rare despite alarming stories on social media. By her figures, one in 9,000 crossings leads to a U.S. inspection. 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 says its 2026 statistics are not yet available.
