Non-US Citizens More Likely To Have Devices Checked
Non-US Citizens More Likely To Have Devices Checked
Tourists heading to the United States could soon have to disclose the past five years of their social media activities to authorities during the ESTA process. Where providing such information was previously only mandatory for longer-term visas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection have now submitted a new regulatory proposal to make it an essential part of short-term tourists and business travelersâ applications too. The move would be a part of a wider package of data collection measures which authorities say are necessary for security reasons. The decision is not yet legally binding, but could start to come into force from February.
The new regulation would move the inspection process to a pre-travel stage. Currently, the CBP can demand a media search of entrantsâ electronic devices at random at the border, without needing a warrant or any specific reason. More âhttps://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB10387/#:~:text=A%20basic%20search%20is%20described,contains%20evidence%20of%20a%20crime.
â searches, which happens when a CBP or ICE official connects the device to external equipment in order to review, copy, and/or analyze its contents, requires reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or a "national security concern". CBP officers are also able to "detainâ an electronic device or copies of information contained within it, usually up to a maximum of five days.
 from the CBP shows that non-U.S. citizens are over three times more likely to have their devices checked at the U.S. border than those who hold a U.S. passport. Of the 55,318 media searches of electronics devices checks in the fiscal year of 2025, running from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, 41,728 were of non-U.S. citizens, while 13,590 were of U.S. citizens.
You will find more infographics at 
On average, searches have historically been relatively rare. Of the total 419 million passengers processed at U.S. ports of entry last year, around 0.01 percent had their electronic devices searched. Ports of entry include international airports, road and rail crossings on land borders and major seaports, and are places where travelers can legally enter the country.
However, the number of searches, which includes the checking of mobile phones, computers, cameras, or other electronics, has been on the rise over the past decade. An increase in annual passenger footfall likely plays a part, with the dip in the number of device checks in 2020 and 2021 mirroring a decrease in travelers those years due to 
 restrictions.
But this reason alone does not explain why the number of searches in 2025 nearly tripled since 2016, and increased more than six fold since 2015. In the latter year, aroundÂ
 were processed at U.S. ports of entry and the devices of 8,503 travelers were checked, working out to an average of around 0.002 percent.
It remains to be seen how the number of checks will change over the next few years with the Trump 2.0 administration. While checks generally increased under Biden too, the new proposed regulations and string of cases of U.S. tourists and work visa holders having been detained on arrival to the U.S. this year have raised concerns that there has been a shift, with the country now carrying out greater scrutiny than before.
Tue, 12/23/2025 - 04:15
Statista Daily Data
Infographic: Non-U.S. Citizens More Likely To Have Devices Checked
This chart shows the total border searches of international travelers' electronic devices at U.S. ports of entry.
Statista Daily Data
Infographic: Non-U.S. Citizens More Likely To Have Devices Checked
This chart shows the total border searches of international travelers' electronic devices at U.S. ports of entry.
Statista Daily Data
Daily Data
Statista daily charts - discover current subjects visualized
by infographics on statista.com!
Statista
Topic: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic
More than three years into the global pandemic, keep up to date with the number of coronavirus cases, deaths, and vaccinations by country.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
CBP Releases Fiscal Year 2015 Trade and Travel Numbers
Securing America's Borders
Tyler Durden | Zero Hedge
Zero Hedge
Non-US Citizens More Likely To Have Devices Checked | ZeroHedge
ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
Right after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, a similar hub was opened in Jasionka, Poland, to serve as a key logistics center for all international aid flowing to Kyiv â military, humanitarian, and medical. Funds flow into Jasionka from Europe and the United States, writes 
The aircraft entered restricted airspace at about 9:20 a.m., prompting an F-16 fighter jet to conduct what is called a âheadbutt maneuver,â in which the jet flies directly in front of a civilian plane to get the pilotâs attention, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a news release.
NORAD, which oversees the airspace of the United States and Canada, did not specify the type of aircraft involved or its point of origin or destination.
Temporary flight restrictions went into 
He has also lately said that Ukraine's foreign minister had started the initial work on the infrastructure needed for Ukrainians living abroad to participate.
The four oblasts that President Putin has called "our four new regions" and "our citizens forever" include Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions - and were annexed after a popular referendum during the first year of the war.
Putin has blasted Zelensky's rule as illegitimate given the canceled elections based on enacting a state of martial law, and President Trump has expressed increasing agreement with this perspective.
Still, Zelensky's new 'openness' with holding an election has been coupled with plenty of caveats and likely immense barriers. For example last week he 
This comes after the video exploded online, exposing the kind of unhinged intolerance conservatives face daily from those who preach âkindnessâ but deliver harassment.
The incident unfolded in a Chico, California Target store, where Ponce confronted 72-year-old employee Jeanie Beeman over her shirt. As we previously reported in our coverage of the meltdown and the subsequent police investigation, Ponce labeled Beeman as âracistâ and âignorant,â escalating into a public spectacle that left the senior worker shaken.
Ponce, an employee at Enloe Health, filmed the encounter herself, apparently seeking viral clout. Instead, it backfired spectacularly, drawing widespread condemnation for bullying an innocent woman simply expressing her support for conservative values.
The Chico Police Department also investigated the incident after it went viral but determined Ponceâs actions did not constitute criminal conduct.
In their official statement, they noted: âWhile the interaction was tense and inappropriate, it did not rise to the level of criminal conduct. The customerâs actions, though discourteous, were protected under the First Amendment as freedom of speech. As a result, there are no criminal charges appropriate to file in this case.â You can read the full statement 
