ACLU, EFF Sue DHS Over Practice of Searching Travelers' Devices Without Warrant at Border

The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Massachusetts and the Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the Department of Homeland Security over its "fast-growing practice" of searching travelers' smartphones, laptops and other communications devices at the U.S. border without a warrant (see 1703170019), the groups announced Wednesday. They said the plaintiffs are 10 U.S. citizens and a permanent resident. Some are Muslims or people of color and none was subsequently accused of anything wrong, but their devices were kept for weeks or months, said the groups. The lawsuit "seeks to establish that the government must have a warrant based on probable cause to suspect a violation of immigration or customs laws before conducting such searches" as required by the Fourth Amendment, said the groups. They said Customs and Border Protection conducted almost 15,000 device searches in the first half of FY 2017 and is projected to conduct 50 more searches this fiscal year than last. A DHS spokesman said the department doesn't comment on pending litigation.