CBP releases data on total electronic device searches for international travelers

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released this week its electronic device search statistics for FY2017, which details the number of electronic devices the agency searched from international travelers as they passed through its various checkpoints.

In total, the agency searched 14,993 devices from arriving international travelers, representing 0.008 percent of the approximately 189.6 million travelers coming into the United States. The agency processes more than one million travelers through its checkpoints on a daily basis.

The number of searched devices this year represents a 0.006 percent increase over FY2015 and a 0.003 percent increase over FY2016, respectively. In FY2015, the agency searched 8,503 devices of the approximately 383.2 million travelers passing through its checkpoints.

The following year, the total number of travelers increased to approximately 390.6 million travelers with the agency searching 19,033 total devices.

CBP stated the searches have helped combat international terrorist activity, child pornography, intellectual property theft, and visa fraud.

“Electronic device searches are integral in some cases to determining an individual’s intentions upon entering the United States,” John Wagner, deputy executive assistant commissioner for CBP’s Office of Field Operations, said. “These searches, which affect fewer than one-hundredth of one percent of international travelers, have contributed to national security investigations, arrests for child pornography and evidence of human trafficking. CBP officers are well trained to judiciously conduct electronic device searches and to protect sensitive information that may be encountered.”