Know your rights: What travelers to the US and American citizens need to know about border entry

The Trump administration, as part of its immigration crackdown, has been taking a harder line towards people entering the US. This has led to a number of high-profile cases of people being detained and subsequent deportations, as well as tourists and legal visa holders being denied entry.

This has raised concerns among travelers, including US citizens, legal residents, and foreign nationals, about their rights when crossing a US point of entry. “We definitely do have rights at the border, but they are diminished in certain respects,” Noor Zafar, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Rights Project told USA TODAY. “We would recommend to travelers to take extra precautions when they’re traveling into the US,” she added.

Know your rights: What travelers to the US and American citizens need to know about border entry

Every single person, regardless of the documentation that they are carrying, is subject to inspection upon arriving at a US port of entry says the US Customs and Border Control (CBP).

US citizens, including those from US territories, and for the most part legal residents, i.e. green card holders, have more rights and cannot be denied entry in the country. However, noncitizens with a visa or those visiting as tourists can be denied entry.

Can CBP agents check your devices without your permission?

One of the major concerns that has been raised is CBP agents searching electronic devices. “Border agents have the authority to do warrantless searches of certain belongings and devices,” said Zafar. Within 100 miles of the border, Fourth Amendment protections against warrantless searches, don’t fully apply, “but to a point,” she said.

“They can only access what’s on your physical device,” she explained. So, technically off limits are pictures and posts in the Cloud that can only be accessed via the internet. However, if a person, including a US citizen or green card holder, refuses to let their phone be searched, that individual could be detained or face further inspection.

For that reason, it may be wise to clean up the content in your device like chats, photos, videos or social media so that there is less to be searched. “If an officer searches and/or confiscates your laptop or cell phone, get a receipt for your property.,” says the ACLU on their ‘Know Your Rights: Enforcement at the Airport’ webpage.

Do you have to answer CBP agents’ questions?

US citizens and green card holders basically just have to answer “routine questions about the nature of their trip and confirm their identities.” They have a constitutional right to remain silent, but doing so could result in arrest.

However, “you cannot be arrested without a ‘probable cause’ or detained without ‘reasonable suspicion,’” notes USA TODAY.

These travelers are also protected under the First Amendment from being asked about their religious or political beliefs. If a US citizen or green card holder feels that they are being racially or religiously profiled, or feel that the CBP agent’s questions relating to politics are becoming “intrusive or improper, you should complain and ask to speak to a supervisor,” states the ACLU.

This applies for tourists and noncitizen visa holders as well. However, they should be aware that not answering CBP agents’ questions can result in their entry being denied. So, Zafar recommends that they respond “truthfully and comply with directives.”

Be prepared to contact legal counsel

The ACLU also “encourage you to have the telephone number of an attorney or legal services organization with you and ask to contact them if you feel your rights are being violated or if you have been detained for an unusually long period.”

If you’ve been informed that you’re under arrest, or suspect the agent believes you have committed a crime, the ACLU says that “you should ask to speak to a lawyer before answering any further questions — and if you wish to exercise your right to remain silent, you should say so out loud.”

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