The power of U.S. Customers and Border Protection is almost unlimited at the borders – or, surprising to many Americans, within 100 miles of a border where two-thirds of the U.S. population lives.
The federal government maintains they can search your devices and call it a ‘border search’ – no fourth amendment protections – anywhere within that zone. However in 9 states there has to be at least reasonable suspicion (which is a low bar to clear).
And did you know that they claim the authority to collect DNA samples of travelers they detain entering the country, even U.S. citizens, and put the samples into a central database? Of course they’ve mistakenly detained Americans entitled to enter the U.S.
So it really didn’t surprise me two years ago when they revealed plans to build a central database for all of the emails they collect from traveler devices. And readers of this blog, then, shouldn’t be surprised by the news that they’ve actually done it.
- They’re adding “contacts, call logs, messages and photos” from the devices of tens of thousands of people per year and “much of which is captured from people not suspected of any crime.”
- “2,700 CBP officers [can] access it without a warrant” according the office of Senator Ron Wyden, while the agency clarifies it’s actually 3,000 officers.
The agency says trust us, searches of the database are “exercised judiciously, responsibly, and consistent with the public trust.” The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, though, says agents don’t properly document their searches so there’s no way to know whether this is true.
CBP officials declined, however, to answer questions about how many Americans’ phone records are in the database, how many searches have been run or how long the practice has gone on, saying it has made no additional statistics available “due to law enforcement sensitivities and national security implications.”
…CBP officials said their default configuration for some of the searches had been to download and retain all contact lists, call logs and messages, a Wyden aide said. ..CBP conducted roughly 37,000 searches of travelers’ devices in the 12 months ending in October 2021, according to agency data
There’s no suggestion that any terrorist plot has ever been foiled by this program, and the agency is quick to grasp at straws to make that claim whenever they possibly can.
Yet millions just walk across the border unchecked.
People erroneously assume there are rights to privacy that simply don’t exist. Basically if you are anywhere in public, use public airwaves/networks or use any company provided systems/devices you have little if any right of privacy.
Just assume that is the case. Frankly I would rather the country and law enforcement over reach if it means stopping crime or illegal immigration. Whatever rights individuals may have are subordinate to the needs of overall society.
They are usually looking for terror training videos…child porn..human trafficking documents…etc.
If they are looking in your phone, they suspect you are involved or in contact with someone that is involved with some not-so-nice activities.
It could be that one of your relatives or friends is not the person you think they are.
I used to think America was a fine country because, unlike so many others, we didn’t have a Cabinet level department devoted to maintaining internal order “for the good of the state”. Our “Interior Department” dealt with parks, not police. No more. Branding the good old USA with the semi-fascist label of “homeland” says it all.
And sadly no matter who is in office there will always be reasons to keep this structure growing; mission creep occurs and the money is endless, and anyway there will always an excuse. Enemies can always be found and we’ll create more The fact that the whole system has turned on the American people is irrelevant to “protecting” them.
And never mind that a lot of the threats are internal, and do not come from outside the country. And should such flag waving groups ever succeed, you can be sure that those who claim they are against “the government” would be the last to give up such power.
All of this has transpired since brain dead Biden and the traitorous DemocRats have been in charge of the government. You morons who voted for this are the ones who are at fault. Maybe you will pull your heads out of your asses and vote these traitors out of office this November – if not, then expect more of the same as the DemocRats continue to ruin America.
If you turn off your phone while going through customs and border lines at airports can this prevent them from snatching the contents of your phone?
David, you have a problem putting your preconceptions ahead of observed facts. The damn “Patriot Act” under the loathsome Republican, George W. Bush, was responsible for much of our current semi-police state. But it had been building through several administrations under both parties. Probably the brain dead Reagan is where one can draw the line with the beginning of America’s economic and civil liberties decline, but there are plenty of people in Congress and the White House to blame. Bureaucrats, of course, are happy to fill any power gap given them, and those who ask questions rather than just follow orders are soon ousted.
So at the risk of being a grammar Nazi, shouldn’t the title say Americans’ with the apostrophe after the s? As written, it reads as agents searching the records of American (Airlines). I was very confused LOL.
@Daviid Miller: were you born yesterday and immediately dropped on your head? This has gone on for years and the idol of you fascist, Ronald Reagan as well as J Edgar Hoover were a huge force behind the secrecy of the U s govt Grow up and learn history. Trump made it unbearable so I left.
“Whatever rights individuals may have are subordinate to the needs of overall society.”
The level of ignorance required to make that statement is stunning.
Ray – I and America are glad you are gone. Do everyone in America a favor and don’t post any more of your ignorance here. MAGA!
@Sexy…The apostrophe is unnecessary, whether before or after the “s”.
The PATRIOT Act was a bipartisan piece of legislation and has been renewed, extended, and amended under both Republican and Democratic administrations and Congresses. Sorry (not sorry) to bust anyone’s bubble, but no one is innocent here, at least on a partisan basis.
Agreed C.M. It’s like in the McCarthy Era, when if someone said anything about getting along with the USSR they were accused of being “soft on Communism.” How can most politicians dare to ask for limitations on internal police powers when the mob may call them, “soft on terrorists”? Side note: One thing the John Birch wackos of that period were right about was that there was indeed an “agent of Moscow” high up in government. He drove this country into the ground between 2017 and 2021 when he legally and thoroughly lost reelection.
@ David Miller you obviously are ignorant. You can thank Bush and the passing of the Patriot act, as well as his creation of the Department of Homeland Security for this. Biden is being accused of doing the exact opposite of what you accuse him of here. And these activities were started under the Trump administration with his pushing of building the wall and stopping immigration. To say the least you are wrong.
This is the cost of security. When we value security over liberty, we lose both (I’m not sure who to attribute that too). I want to say this is just OK because if you aren’t committing a crime, then you have nothing to worry about. However, after seeing how Trump supporters want to have a fascist government where liberty is what they define it as, rather than what the constitution defines it as, I fear some fascist element controlled by the GOP may gain access to that information and start accusing me of, well what ever they decide to accuse me of, because they will create crimes based on their idea of what they want. So no, this is not OK. Collecting the information of citizens that have done nothing wrong is not OK. Collecting DNA without a search warrant, is not OK. We are allowing a police state to be created.
Can we ditch the political mudslinging long enough to ALL agree that there is no justification for the US government to be able to extract all of the personal information from any US citizen’s personal electronic devices just because they walk back into their home country from abroard – or any other bizarre reason that has been put form under the guise of the Patriot Act?
When this forum looks as bad or worse than inside the beltway, it is no surprise that the US is paralyzed by anger and contempt for everyone else and descending into chaos while no one finds a solution?
David Miller, I think we all want America to be great. American industry, American jobs, American prosperity. If you believe in the Constitution, remember its nickname: the Great Compromise. If you believe in the Constitution, remember “promote domestic tranquility.” The Constitution’s system of checks and balances opposes extremism and promotes collaboration. It’s about getting along and working together. It’s like Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neal having lunch to work together. It’s like Trent Lott and Teddy Kennedy having lunch to work together. It’s not about a polarized, my-way-or-the-highway dogma. (Washington warned us of this in his Farewell Address.)
In 1964, Barry Goldwater uttered, “Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice.” The notion was so repugnant to the average American that Johnson won by the largest percentage margin in the popular vote since James Madison was elected. Only Washington, Jefferson, and Madison won by larger margins.
We have to be intellectually honest. We have to fess-up when we goof up. The biggest and longest sustained blow to the U.S. economy has been NAFTA, which was a Republican-backed treaty. Since taking effect, as if a switch was flipped, growth in the U.S. trade deficit accelerated and growth in U.S. gross domestic product declined. Then, there are the lost jobs. If you doubt it, just pay a visit to Akron, Ohio. This is all backed by hard numbers.
Certainly, the Democrats have had their share of goofs and those need to be acknowledged as well. It’s a two-way street. Both sides have to admit mistakes.
If a person can’t acknowledge the foregoing and can’t engage in discussion civilly, then the person is worth having any discussion.
@David Miller
Hey Davey, make sure you’re out on the streets when the maga riots begin.
. . . then is the person worth having any discussion?
@James N
Look who’s talking Jimmy boy. Your constant ranting about Covid has used up all your ignorance as only the Q’s and maga nuts believe your BS.
It is sad that both parties allow this to continue. Neither republicans or democrats can claim they are in the interest of protecting people., because neither party has done anything to stop this and both parties had ample opportunities to do so. Wish more people understood what is going on. Just to be clear though. You don’t need to give them the password to your phone or anything if you are a citizen. Just tell them to go to hell. Maybe they will hold your phone for a few days, but they can not prevent a citizen from entering the US even if they refuse to unlock the phone. Things get much more dicey for a foreign tourist because they can keep foreign tourists out of the country, so the better tactic in that case is to have a clean phone for travel that has no private info on it.
“Excellent” response, Rog. As usual, you’re incapable of producing anything other than an Ad Hominem attack. Keep trying, maybe just once you’ll produce something of value.
Also, if you actually review the evidence related to the Covid response, including lockdowns, masks and the experimental gene therapies, there’s no question I’ve been right about everything. Sorry to disappoint you.
I know people who have been stopped at the border and had their phones searched. Incriminating evidence of lower level crimes (not child porn) were found on the phone. Customs turned that over to the relevant local authorities who took this information that they would not otherwise have EVER been able to get themselves and used it to prosecute the person.
@James N
Yeah, you’re right Jimmy, you are a serious disappointment. After all it’s only over a million that have died. Try faking that, moron!
@Rog…thanks for validating my post. The one million figure is as bogus as the rest of the scamdemic. The evidence is clear, the entire charade has been a fraud, and only low IQ numbskulls, like you, fell for it.
Also, I see Gary “corrected” the headline and still got it wrong. Repeat, there is no need for an apostrophe. “Americans” is plural.
Unlimited power for that, totally powerless to filter and deny entry to THOUSANDS of the worst Venezuelan gangs.. ‘El tren de Aragua’ is already making videos from Chicago (good election for them, they love powerless an defenseless citizens like we were back in Venezuela), they already displaced the worst gangs back in Peru and Chile, and now they are free to enter America. That will be the new MS13, mark my words.. Dems love that I guess, ‘cultural enrichment’ is what you guys call it right?
When you look at the patriots protesting at the capitol, this is why. An evil government bureaucracy and police state exist and it’s called democracy. There will never be freedom if it can be voted by 51% away. That’s not freedom. Nothing will ever change until all individuals in this country hold all individuals personally accountable for their actions. It’s not some abstract government who is searching your phone or arresting you for speech or operating your business during Covid or a politician, judge, or President: it’s individual cops and agents. If each individual was personally held accountable by all individuals for his or her actions, he or she likely wouldn’t do it. It’s not Washington that’s the problem; it’s police officer John Q badge 9264 and every individual who enforces these laws. Just following orders is not a valid excuse. Both parties have framed it that we should focus our attention on voting and politicians and not the actual individuals doing us harm.
@Lee—thanks for your reasoned response. Excellent.
@David Miller— stop watching Fox Fake News. Biden has had more accomplishments than any recent president. Look up the facts if you’re able to do that, or are you really as f*cking stupid as you come off? JFC.
Robert – Look at all of the accomplishments that transpired during President Trumps tenure – then come back and apologize for you lying post. Here is just one post – https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/trump-administration-accomplishments/
David Miller, both sides have accomplishments and both sides have failures. Ted Williams “only” batted 400 in his best season. Each side must acknowledge the other’s accomplishments as well as its own failures.
Now, here’s a hypothetical question asked in a non-accusatory way: if Mr. Trump were to be found to have provided foreign agents with classified information (perhaps including nuclear capabilities) that would undermine the U.S.’s defense posture, would you still support him? To exclude the usual defenses, let’s say that the Almighty appeared to you personally and communicated this directly to you. Would you still support Mr. Trump? Thanks for the consideration of the question.
Your question is asinine. President Trump loves America – If he had of wanted to do what you suggest, why didn’t he do it during the last 20 months? Your “info” is nothing more than the crap the DemocRats make up about him – just like ALL of the crap they assigned to him while he was in office. I feel sorry for you if you have bought into all of the lies the DemocRats and the lying media have spread about him. I support President Trump – I saw the good he did for America and Americans while he was in office. Do you support brain dead Biden and all of the policies that he has put in place? How do you like what he and the DemocRats have done to America in the last 21 months? Anyone voting for any DemocRat is a traitor to all Americans and America.
@ David Miller
“Anyone voting for any DemocRat is a traitor to all Americans and America.”
That the Donald Duckling has managed to brainwash people like you to attach to such statements is all the evidence you need for his unsuitability for office in a democracy.
Meanwhile, the US continues its slide into a police state with eroding freedoms and privacy and unfettered power over citizens per the article above.
platy – it is obvious that you prefer what the DemocRats have done to America the past 21 months versus the America that we had prior to their current ruining of America.
@ James N
“The apostrophe is unnecessary, whether before or after the “s”.”
“Also, I see Gary “corrected” the headline and still got it wrong. Repeat, there is no need for an apostrophe. “Americans” is plural.”
Ah, but no, James, it’s back to primary school for you.
Gary could have written just “American” if he’d intended to use the word as an adjective (a descriptive word like “dumb” in the phrase “dumb James”).
But then the meaning would be ambiguous (it’s not clear why James ended up so dumb or the stuff is American – because it’s owned by Americans or made in America or whatever?).
No, the context clearly implies that American is being used as a noun (a “naming word”) because it’s referring to American individuals when we go on to read the article.
The one thing you got right is that the plural of American is Americans. Bravo, lad! Hence the use of the word “Americans” in the phrase “dumb Americans”.
But then we need to add the grammar – in this instance the genitive case. This modifies the meaning to establish the connection between Americans and what they own (laptops and phones and sometimes stupid stuff).
And that is why, my little pithed ranid, you need the apostrophe.
If there was only one American then you need to add the “s” to the word to generate the genitive case and to avoid ambiguity (because we’re not referring to a plurality of yanks) also add the apostrophe between before the “s”.
Hence, in your singular case, “the dumb American’s covidiocy”.
But, in the plural the “s” is already there. Now your need to put the apostrophe after the “s” to avoid ambiguity. Hence “Americans’ covidiocy is typically based on right wing politics and not science”.
Now, to be fair, sometimes folks truncate or omit the grammar and place two nouns together to infer a connection in a colloquially vernacular manner. But this is grammatically erroneous and ambiguous.
“Dumb American covidiocy” could be interpreted as the stupidity of a singular American or could equally imply that covidiocy is something American and we wouldn’t want the latter to be misinterpreted by any sensitive right wing twats on this blog, now would we?
Even Gary, who IME is very reluctant to rectify any errors in his articles, has bowed to the need to alter his headline knowing how dumb American it looks to get such basic grammar wrong.
So, my wondrous rheobatrachian, you are clearly as confused by basic grammar as you are discerning a nappy from a face mask and genes from messenger molecules.
Be well, my friend.
@ David Miller
“it is obvious that you prefer what the DemocRats have done to America the past 21 months versus the America that we had prior to their current ruining of America”
I don’t vote in the US, so don’t get to choose.
But as a citizen of two countries closely allied to the US, I am mightily relieved that the twat is out of office for the betterment of my adopted and original country. For example, it is clear that the current challenges we jointly face in handling both Russia and China are in no small part due to the t*RUMP’s appalling mishandling of foreign relations and the need for less powerful allies to fall into line during his administration. Both the general population and national government of my adoptive country were delighted to see rid of that runt. We breathed a collective sigh of relief.
FWIW my friends in the US who are Republican-aligned feel likewise.
It is also clear that the man was / is no leader. He seeks division rather than unity. He stirs up discontent, racism, fear and hatred. He is also serially dishonest and will say or do anything for his own egotistic power trip.
His anti-science position during the pandemic was appalling. Over one million dead.
IME the US lost a huge amount of respect from those observing from other countries that now needs to be rebuilt.
Your own hysterical posts framed in his vernacular are a very troubling insight into the brainwashed minds that have been crafted from his errant sociopathy.
It is beyond surreal parody that a remotely intelligent human being with any modicum of education or experience of international travel can write such drivel and expect others to take you or your country seriously.
Luckily, I know that you do not represent the majority of Americans, who no doubt long for a focus on similarity of people and purpose.
platy- You are completely full of shit. The DemocRats are ruining America. President Trump is a great President – brain dead Biden is a traitor.
@ David Miller
“I feel sorry for you if you have bought into all of the lies the DemocRats and the lying media have spread about him. I support President Trump – I saw the good he did for America and Americans while he was in office.”
This is where the brainwashing kicks in, fella. Your mind is feeble soup.
If anybody says anything against the orange muppet it must be a media lie, right?
If anybody brings forward any evidence , it must be planted, or fake, or again misreported, right?
The guy is utterly infallible, right?
But there’s more.
If anybody calls out the sociopathy for the abusive power trip that it is, no problem, you call just accuse the victims of being the actual abusers in an effortless role reversal. The poor orange boofhead was innocent all along, right?
Don’t like the science – blame the scientists. Not working – no problem select individuals to vilify, even when they are war heroes on your own side of politics.
You’ve been brainwashed as surely as some weak minded dolt seduced into a religious cult.
Focus on fixing up that fool’s mess – start working together – you ain’t gonna be great unless you find your common purpose – one thing its for sure, the flakey fool is never going to give that unity that will be essential to make your country great, ether you are Democrat leaning or GOPpy.
Grow up, mate, there rest of the western world is laughing at trumpettes like you, and our common goals have been squandered.
platy – troll elsewhere. You are too ignorant to have any idea what you are talking about.
@ David Miller
” President Trump is a great President – brain dead Biden is a traitor.”
So long as fools like you make such insane and unsubstantiated statements, the US will continue to be a very lost and divided country.
Choosing belief-based politics over policy consensus will prove a retrograde and destructive path.
But thanks for the laughs, mate.
@ David Miller
“You are too ignorant to have any idea what you are talking about.”
Not true. I am well aware of how the bouffant orange soufflé and his happy MAGbabies are viewed in my adopted country and there’s nothing positive or redeeming to report.
If you walked into one of our local bars of restaurants with one of those silly baseball hats on, everyone would laugh at you. (oh yeah – we’d buy a you aa beer as well, but we’d still be laughing).
@ Amy Fischer s
“If each individual was personally held accountable by all individuals for his or her actions, he or she likely wouldn’t do it.”
That didn’t work with the duck muppet.
platy – You havn’t a clue as to what you are talking about. Look into a mirror if you feel the need for a good laugh. MAGA!
@ David Miller
“You havn’t a clue as to what you are talking about.”
But that’s your problem – I do know exactly what people here say when they are talking about the magamaddies and their orange cult. It’s comedy central.
” Look into a mirror if you feel the need for a good laugh. MAGA!”
Nah, mate, you’re the metajoke, offering so many angles for tragic comedy. The living and squawking embodiment of every soppy stereotype that that maniac has you believing in your dumb hypnotic state.
That you even write “maga” in your post is a sad parody in itself. The trumpette will sound! Tell me you have the hat! Please tell me that you have the hat! The twat in the hat!
MAGBA – Make America Great Britain Again ! Vivat Rex !
platy – It is obvious that all you care to do is troll – I have stated the truth and I do not desire to try to educate you. So say whatever you wish, it does not change the reality. Now go and have your laugh, though I think that you are the one who everyone is laughing about. MAGA!
@ David Miller
“I have stated the truth and I do not desire to try to educate you.”
Your statements above about the political history of mass surveillance and state powers over individuals’ privacy and rights with respect to national security and border control have already proved to be factually incorrect, as noted by others above.
This suggests that you have zero to offer educationally on the topic.
That you claim to ascribe to some notion of “truth” only reinforces the perception that you are a faith-based political puppet.
This further decreases any likelihood of any rational, evidence-based input. Clearly, you are unlikely to offer anything educationally novel or insightful on the topic.
Mass surveillance of the American people by national agencies started a long time ago, as others have reported in comments above and has continued through successive administrations.
MAGA- Make America Gormless Again !!!
Arguably, you should be very concerned about your loss of personal privacy and freedoms.
But then, when your fellow magaloonies storm parliament armed with guns with murderous intent, it’s a sad reality check on the need to take steps to defend the heart and process of American democracy against the trash festering in its own society.
Stark. Raving. Bonkers.
@platy—bravo!
@ David Miller
100% correct, sir.
@ Lee
Many good thoughts but NAFTA was negotiated by Bush I and then signed by . . . Bill Clinton.
Jack the Lad – Your valid point is lost on liberals – facts don’t matter to them. They are the first to bitch without ever offering a sane solution to whatever they bitch about.