Overview
- Newly released CBP figures show 55,424 device searches in fiscal 2025, up from about 47,000 the year prior.
- The increase was concentrated in the final two quarters, with 14,899 searches from April to June and 16,173 from July to September.
- Of the total, 51,061 were basic inspections and 4,363 were advanced forensic extractions, a roughly 3 percent rise in advanced searches year over year.
- CBP says fewer than 0.01 percent of travelers have devices searched and frames the checks as targeting digital contraband, terrorism-related content, or information relevant to admissibility.
- Legal standards remain split, with some circuits permitting suspicionless searches and others requiring reasonable suspicion or, in recent New York district rulings, probable cause for advanced exams, as travelers report detentions or denials that CBP disputes.