TRAVELERS' LAPTOPS MAY BE DETAINED AT BORDER

Forwarded message

Travelers' Laptops May Be Detained At Border

No Suspicion Required Under DHS Policies

By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
THE WASHINGTON POST
Friday, August 1, 2008; Page A01

Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop computer or
other electronic device to an off-site location for an
unspecified period of time without any suspicion of
wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the
Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/U.S.+Department+of+Homeland+Security?tid=i
nformline

Also, officials may share copies of the laptop's contents
with other agencies and private entities for language
translation, data decryption or other reasons, according to
the policies, dated July 16 and issued by two DHS agencies,
U.S. Customs and Border Protection

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/U.S.+Customs+and+Border+Protection?tid=inf
ormline

and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/U.S.+Bureau+of+Immigration+and+Customs+Enf
orcement?tid=informline

"The policies . . . are truly alarming," said Sen. Russell
Feingold (D-Wis.),

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Russ+Feingold?tid=informline

who is probing the government's border search practices. He
said he intends to introduce legislation soon that would
require reasonable suspicion for border searches, as well
as prohibit profiling on race, religion or national origin.

DHS officials said the newly disclosed policies -- which
apply to anyone entering the country, including U.S.
citizens -- are reasonable and necessary to prevent
terrorism. Officials said such procedures have long been in
place but were disclosed last month because of public
interest in the matter.

Civil liberties and business travel groups have pressed the
government to disclose its procedures as an increasing
number of international travelers have reported that their
laptops, cellphones and other digital devices had been
taken -- for months, in at least one case -- and their
contents examined.

The policies state that officers may "detain" laptops "for
a reasonable period of time" to "review and analyze
information." This may take place "absent individualized
suspicion."

The policies cover "any device capable of storing
information in digital or analog form," including hard
drives, flash drives, cellphones, iPods,

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Apple+iPod?tid=informline

pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover
"all papers and other written documentation," including
books, pamphlets and "written materials commonly referred
to as 'pocket trash' or 'pocket litter.' "

Reasonable measures must be taken to protect business
information and attorney-client privileged material, the
policies say, but there is no specific mention of the
handling of personal data such as medical and financial
records.

When a review is completed and no probable cause exists to
keep the information, any copies of the data must be
destroyed. Copies sent to non-federal entities must be
returned to DHS. But the documents specify that there is no
limitation on authorities keeping written notes or reports
about the materials.

"They're saying they can rifle through all the information
in a traveler's laptop without having a smidgen of evidence
that the traveler is breaking the law," said Greg Nojeim,
senior counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Center+for+Democracy+and+Technology?tid=in
formline

Notably, he said, the policies "don't establish any
criteria for whose computer can be searched."

Customs Deputy Commissioner Jayson P. Ahern said the
efforts "do not infringe on Americans' privacy." In a
statement submitted to Feingold for a June hearing on the
issue, he noted that the executive branch has long had
"plenary authority to conduct routine searches and seizures
at the border without probable cause or a warrant" to
prevent drugs and other contraband from entering the
country.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Michael+Chertoff?tid=informline

wrote in an opinion piece published last month in USA Today

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/USA+TODAY?tid=informline

that "the most dangerous contraband is often contained in
laptop computers or other electronic devices." Searches
have uncovered "violent jihadist materials" as well as
images of child pornography, he wrote.

With about 400 million travelers entering the country each
year, "as a practical matter, travelers only go to
secondary [for a more thorough examination] when there is
some level of suspicion," Chertoff wrote. "Yet legislation
locking in a particular standard for searches would have a
dangerous, chilling effect as officers' often split-second
assessments are second-guessed."

In April, the U.S. Court of Appeals

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/U.S.+Court+of+Appeals?tid=informline

for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco upheld the
government's power to conduct searches of an international
traveler's laptop without suspicion of wrongdoing. The
Customs policy can be viewed at:

http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/travel/admissability/search_authority.ctt/se\arch_auth
ority.pdf

More at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/01/AR2008080103030.html

End of forwarded message

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