52,080 Devices Inspected at U.S. Border in First Nine Months

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents inspected 52,080 electronic devices between October 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.

The count represents a 32 percent increase over the same period in the previous fiscal year, when officers examined 39,251 devices. The current total is nearly equal to the all-time record of 55,424 searches recorded in fiscal 2025.

CBP classified 47,517 of these inspections as basic searches, which officers may conduct without reasonable suspicion. The remaining 4,564 were advanced searches, allowing agents to analyze or copy device contents based on reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity or national security concerns.

Jessica Turner, a CBP public affairs officer, noted that these searches affect a small fraction of travelers. She cited 419 million entries into the country in 2025 and stated that only 0.01 percent of travelers face device inspections year over year. Turner explained that the searches target digital contraband, terrorism-related content, and admissibility information.

The agency did not disclose how many searches occurred at the Canadian or Mexican borders, nor did it provide a split between airports and land crossings. CBP also withheld data on the total number of travelers entering during the period and the distinction between U.S. citizens and non-citizens.

Esha Bhandari, director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, said the lack of detailed data makes it difficult to determine why inspections are rising. She argued that government agencies tend to use their powers to the detriment of traveler privacy. Bhandari pointed to reports of travelers being questioned about political opinions and religious practices as troubling examples.

Laura Dawson, executive director of the Future Borders Coalition, said the increase is hard to assess without knowing the volume of crossings or specific locations. She noted that searches also occur at seaports and that the summer World Cup may have shifted the demographic mix of visitors. Dawson calculated that one in 9,000 crossings results in a U.S. inspection, while one in 14,000 leads to a search on the Canadian side.