Can ICE or CBP read your deleted messages? What US border agents can and can't do
Reports suggest that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may be able to recover permanently deleted messages from travelers' devices during border inspections. While official policy remains vague, the incident highlights the broad authority border agents have over electronic devices.
Why it matters
It raises significant privacy and civil liberty concerns regarding the extent of digital surveillance at international borders.
A recent Instagram video by immigration attorney Deepak Ahluwalia has raised questions about whether US border officials can recover deleted messages from travellers' phones during airport inspections. In the video, Ahluwalia claims that a client entering the US through San Francisco International Airport had permanently deleted messages that were recovered and reviewed during an inspection by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).“Can ICE or CBP read your deleted messages? The answer is yes,” Ahluwalia said in the video. He added that, according to the client, CBP officers recovered messages that were not linked to any cloud service and had been permanently deleted, and that those messages were later used in deciding the individual's entry into the US.
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