Gaby Del Valle
Appearances
Apple News Today
Tips to protect the data on your phone at airports
I got a lot of questions, you know, from my friends, from my colleagues asking, should I be traveling with my phone right now?
Apple News Today
Tips to protect the data on your phone at airports
What happens if they ask to see my phone? Am I required to show them? And the answer is that it depends on your immigration status in the U.S. and also kind of on where you're flying into or entering the country.
Apple News Today
Tips to protect the data on your phone at airports
So travelers' rights to decline a search depend on several factors, including their immigration status. If you're a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident, you can decline a search, but CBP can take your phone and they can hold on to it. If you are a visa holder, you can decline a search, but then you can also be denied entry into the U.S. for declining a search.
Apple News Today
Tips to protect the data on your phone at airports
The Trump administration is kind of taking this like whole of government approach to immigration enforcement. They're not just, you know, trying to completely stop immigration at the border. And they're not just like doing ice raids in the interior of the country. They're also using CBP's presence at airports to conduct what appears to be like more stringent or additional screenings of travelers.
Apple News Today
Tips to protect the data on your phone at airports
These are practices that have been in place for a long time, but given the Trump administration's kind of heightened interest in immigration enforcement, I think that's why we're seeing so many more reports of this now.
Apple News Today
Tips to protect the data on your phone at airports
The things on your phone, even things that you think are innocuous, can absolutely be used against you if you're seeking entry into the United States. But they can also be used against you or taken if you're a U.S. citizen. While I was reporting this, I came across stories of U.S. citizens who have had their devices searched and seized at the border as well, including one immigration lawyer who
Apple News Today
Tips to protect the data on your phone at airports
had his phone taken when he refused to let CBP access it. And then they had to use forensic tools to look through his phone because he wouldn't give them the password.