US border agents has right to seize laptops

[bigbossman]

And maybe detain you like the Singaporean jailed in Texas.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/World/STIStory_263778.html

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/World/STIStory_263778.html

Aug 2, 2008

US security agency defends agents' right to seize laptops

WASHINGTON - A KEY US national security agency on Friday defended the right of border officers to seize laptops from travelers even if they are not suspected of criminal activity, as lawmakers and rights activists slammed it as unconstitutional and alarming.

'Since the founding of the republic, we have had broad authority to conduct searches at the border to prevent the entrance into this country of dangerous persons and goods,' Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesman Amy Kudwa told AFP.

'In the 21st century, the most dangerous contraband is most often contained in electronic media, not on paper. The age of micro-fiches and paper files is long over,' she said.

The DHS last month made public policy documents, one of which authorises border officials to 'detain documents and electronic devices, for a reasonable period of time to perform a thorough border search ... on-site or at an off-site location.'

'In the course of a border search, and absent individualised suspicion, officers can review and analyse the information transported by any individual attempting to enter, reenter, depart, pass through, or reside in the United States,' said the document, which is available online.

Mr Tim Sparapani, senior legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called the searches and seizures unconstitutional.

'It's a seizure without developing probable cause that a crime has been or is being committed. The Customs and Border Protection Division of the DHS is trying to turn the US border into a constitution-free zone,' he said.
Senator Russ Feingold, who earlier this year chaired a congressional hearing into the DHS's practice of searching and sometimes confiscating electronic equipment, said the searches were 'alarming' and an invasion of privacy.

'I am more convinced than ever that legislation is needed in order to protect law-abiding Americans from this gross violation of their privacy. I intend to introduce such legislation soon,' Mr Feingold said in a statement. -- AFP

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/World/STIStory_263778.html