Border agents accused of unconstitutionally searching, seizing travelers' computers

[Liberal_in_LA]

Border agents accused of unconstitutionally searching, seizing travelers' computers

By Hugo Martín, Los Angeles Times

September 13, 2010

Anyone who has traveled abroad with a laptop or other electronic device might cringe to hear about the criminal defense attorney who had the contents of her computer searched by border agents after flying into Houston from Mexico.

And then there is the freelance photographer who was stopped at the U.S. border with Canada where officials scanned through his laptop files.

Perhaps the most unnerving tale is that of the graduate student who was riding a train from Montreal to New York when border guards confiscated his laptop and external hard drive for 11 days.

The three Americans are cited in a lawsuit filed last week by the ACLU, the National Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers and others against the Homeland Security Department. The lawsuit alleges that border agents seize and search the electronic devices of international travelers without establishing suspicion of wrongdoing, in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

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The lawsuit cites the tales of attorney Lisa Wayne, graduate student Pascal Abidor and photographer Duane Kerzic to suggest that anyone who crosses the U.S. border with an electronic device could get the same treatment.

"It affects criminal lawyers. It affects photographers. It affects businessmen with trade secrets," said Michael Price, a spokesman for the lawyers group. "It affects everybody."

Between Oct. 1, 2008, and June 2 of this year, more than 6,500 people had their electronic devices searched by border agents, according to the lawsuit. In 280 cases, border agents shared information gleaned from such devices with other law enforcement agencies, the lawsuit said.

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