CBP Searches 52,080 Devices in First Three Quarters of 2026

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers searched 52,080 electronic devices belonging to travelers from October 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. That total represents a 32 percent increase over the same period in the previous year, when 39,251 devices were examined. The agency’s data indicates that searches are on track to exceed the previous record of 55,424 devices set in fiscal 2025.

CBP categorized the inspections into two types. Officers conducted 47,517 basic searches, a process they can perform without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. The remaining 4,564 were advanced searches, which require reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity or a national security concern and allow officers to analyze or copy the contents of the device.

The agency did not provide a detailed breakdown of where these searches took place. It declined to specify how many occurred at the Canadian border versus the Mexican border or how they were divided between airports and land crossings. CBP also withheld data on the total number of travelers entering the country during that period and the split between U.S. citizens and non-citizens, details typically included in annual reports.

Jessica Turner, a public affairs officer for CBP, stated that the searches affected a small fraction of the 419 million travelers who entered the country in 2025. She wrote that only 0.01 percent of travelers had their devices searched year-over-year. Turner said the inspections aim to detect digital contraband, terrorism-related content, and information relevant to admissibility.

Privacy advocates have criticized the lack of transparency surrounding the rise in inspections. Esha Bhandari, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, said the increase calls for greater congressional oversight. She noted that it is difficult to speculate on the reasons for the rise because the government does not explain them. Bhandari argued that when the government holds a power, it tends to use it to the detriment of travelers’ privacy.

Bhandari pointed to anecdotes from her organization, including travelers being asked about political opinions, writing, or religious practice. She described these accounts as troubling and said the aggregate data makes it hard to understand what is happening at the border. She suggested that the increase may reflect advances in technology and the failure of federal courts to limit the government’s authority.

In January, CBP updated its guidelines to clarify that device searches cover items such as flash drives, SIM cards, GPS systems, unmanned aircraft systems, vehicle infotainment systems, and smart watches. The update also added smuggling of narcotics, firearms, or other goods, transnational theft of proprietary information, and digital contraband to the list of crimes the searches are meant to detect. Bhandari said these changes altered only a few procedures at the margins.

Laura Dawson, executive director of the Future Borders Coalition, said it is difficult to judge the increase without knowing where the searches occurred or how many people crossed the border. She noted that the World Cup this summer may have brought a more diverse mix of visitors. Dawson also pointed to greater focus on border security and closer cooperation between Canadian and U.S. border services, including on human smuggling and the Ryan Wedding case.

Dawson said that having more scrutiny at the border is actually a positive in many ways. She noted that device searches remain rare despite alarming stories on social media. By her figures, one in 9,000 crossings leads to a U.S. inspection, and one in 14,000 crossings leads to a search on the Canadian side. The Canada Border Services Agency says its 2026 statistics are not yet available.