Border Agents Inspected 52,080 Devices in 2026 as Data Withheld

The number of electronic devices inspected by U.S. border officers has climbed sharply in the first two-thirds of fiscal year 2026.

Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, obtained by CBC News, indicates that 52,080 devices were searched between October 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. This figure is up more than 32 percent from 39,251 searches conducted during the same period the previous year. The total is now close to the record 55,424 devices searched in all of fiscal 2025.

The agency categorizes these inspections into two types. It reports that 47,517 were basic searches, which officers can perform without specific suspicion of wrongdoing. The remaining 4,564 were advanced searches, requiring reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity or national security concerns. Advanced searches allow officers to analyze or copy the contents of a device.

In January 2026, CBP updated its guidelines to expand the scope of these inspections. The new rules include flash drives, SIM cards, GPS systems, drones, vehicle infotainment systems, and smart watches. The updates also added the smuggling of narcotics, firearms, and proprietary information to the list of targets for these searches. Esha Bhandari, director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, described these procedural changes as minor adjustments. She suggested the overall increase may stem from technological advances and a lack of judicial limits on government authority.

The agency has not released detailed statistics for the period. It declined to specify how many searches occurred at the Canadian border versus the Mexican border, or how many took place at airports compared to land crossings. CBP also withheld the total number of travelers who entered the country during that time, as well as the breakdown of searches involving U.S. citizens versus non-citizens. These details are typically included in its annual reports.

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

Bhandari argued that the rise in searches requires more congressional oversight. She said it is difficult to determine the reasons for the increase because the government does not provide an explanation. She added that when the government holds this power, it tends to use it in a way that harms traveler privacy. Her group has heard accounts of travelers being questioned about political opinions, writing, or religious practice.

Laura Dawson, executive director of the Future Borders Coalition, said it is hard to assess the increase without knowing the specific locations or the total number of crossings. She pointed to factors such as the summer World Cup, which may have brought a more diverse mix of visitors. Dawson also cited a greater focus on border security and closer cooperation between Canadian and U.S. border services on issues like human smuggling and the Ryan Wedding case. She described the increased scrutiny at the border as generally positive.

Dawson noted that device searches remain rare despite viral stories on social media. By her calculations, one in 9,000 crossings leads to a U.S. inspection, while one in 14,000 leads to a search on the Canadian side. Canadian officials have searched a smaller share of devices than their U.S. counterparts in recent years, and those numbers have been declining. The Canada Border Services Agency has not yet released its 2026 statistics.