Returning from vacation? The government can search your phone without a warrant.

“I believe CBP flagged me because of my organizing and political work around immigrants’ rights in Florida,” he wrote in his court filing. ” Border search exemption Federal courts have long-recognized a “border exception” to the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, where people, bags, and electronic devices can be searched without a warrant. Kennedy’s story is reminiscent of a 2017 incident at San Francisco Airport, where a local artist explained to Ars how border agents there allegedly threatened to “be dicks” if he did not hand over his phone. ” CBP says that such searches of electronic devices are very rare. 0013%. Still, Kennedy is angry about what happened to him. “CBP shouldn’t have been able to confiscate my phone, let alone copy its contents,” he wrote in the complaint. ” The case was first reported by the Miami New Times.