To impede transnational criminals and terrorists from passing on confidential and prohibited information using computers and other electronic media from the U.S. ports of entry, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced new directives that will enhance and clarify about these searches. Speaking about the directives, Napolitano said, “The new directives announced today strike the balance between respecting the civil liberties and privacy of all travelers while ensuring DHS can take the lawful actions necessary to secure our borders.” A data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows that between October 1, 2008 and August 11, 2009, they encountered more than 221 million travelers at all U.S. ports of entry, out of these only 1,000 laptop searches were performed and of those just 46 were in-depth.

The new directives address the circumstances under which CBP, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can conduct border searches of electronic media and they are available at www.dhs.gov. These are consistent with the DHS’s Constitutional authority to search other sensitive non-electronic materials, such as briefcases, backpacks and notebooks, at U.S. borders. The new directives will also allow DHS to develop automated, comprehensive data collection and analytic tools to facilitate accurate, thorough reporting on electronic media searched at the border, the outcomes of those searches and the nature of the data searched will further enhance transparency and accountability. Readers can click the links below to read about CBP, ICE searches and Privacy Impact Assessment.

CBP Border Search of Electronic Devices Containing Information

ICE Border Searches of Electronic Media

Privacy Impact Assessment: Border Searches of Electronic Information

For complete information, please click Secretary Napolitano Announces New Directives on Border Searches of Electronic Media