CBP reveals 32% jump in device searches but hides where 52,080 inspections took place

52,080 electronic devices were inspected by U.S. border officers between October 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. The count represents a rise of more than 32 percent compared to the same period in the prior fiscal year, when officers examined 39,251 devices.

The new total approaches the all-time high set in fiscal 2025, when a record 55,424 devices were searched. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, provided the figures to CBC News. The agency categorized 47,517 of the 2026 inspections as basic searches, which officers can perform without reasonable suspicion. The remaining 4,563 were advanced searches, conducted when officers had reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity or national security concerns.

CBP did not release data on where the searches occurred. The agency withheld information on whether inspections took place at the Canadian or Mexican border, or at airports versus land crossings. It also omitted the total number of travelers entering the country and the split between U.S. citizens and non-citizens. Such details are typically included in the agency's annual reports.

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

Esha Bhandari, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, called for more congressional oversight. She noted that the government does not explain the reasons for the increase. Bhandari said that when the government holds such power, it tends to use it to the detriment of travelers' privacy. She described anecdotes from her group as troubling, including travelers being questioned about political opinions, writing, or religious practice.

In January, CBP updated its guidelines to include flash drives, SIM cards, GPS systems, unmanned aircraft systems, vehicle infotainment systems, and smart watches in the scope of device searches. The update also added smuggling of narcotics, firearms, transnational theft of proprietary information, and digital contraband to the list of detectable crimes. Bhandari said these changes altered only a few procedures at the margins.

Laura Dawson, executive director of the Future Borders Coalition, said it is difficult to judge the increase without knowing where the searches occurred or how many people crossed. She noted that the World Cup this summer may have brought a more diverse mix of visitors. Dawson also pointed to closer cooperation between Canadian and U.S. border services on human smuggling and the Ryan Wedding case. She estimated that one in 9,000 crossings leads to a U.S. inspection, while one in 14,000 leads to a search on the Canadian side.