NBC 5 Responds is looking into your rights as an airline passenger after a French scientist was denied entry into the United States earlier this month. PJ Randhawa has the story.
NBC 5 Responds is looking into your rights as an airline passenger after a French scientist was denied entry into the United States earlier this month.
The French government claimed the scientist’s phone contained messages opposing the Trump administration, a claim officials deny.
The scientist was supposed to attend a conference in Texas when he was turned away from entering the country.
The assistant secretary at the department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, posted on X:
“The French researcher in question was in possession of confidential information on his electronic device from Los Alamos National Laboratory— in violation of a non-disclosure agreement—something he admitted to taking without permission and attempted to conceal. Any claim that his removal was based on political beliefs is blatantly false.”
According to US Customs and Border Protection, the rules are clear. CBP officers may search a traveler’s mobile phone, computer, camera, or other electronics “on rare occasions”.
It says in fiscal year 2024, just over 47,000 people had their electronic devices searched at a point of entry into the United States.
NBC 5 Responds
According to CBP, when an international traveler is going through customs, they can be referred for a “secondary inspection," and that can occur “with or without any suspicion of wrongdoing”.
At that point, their electronic devices may be searched. The search does not include items stored on the cloud CBP says all travelers, regardless of citizenship, are subject to inspection, and that policy includes electronic devices.
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