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No Liquids, No Shoes, No Privacy at the AirportAmericans have become accustomed to giving up a little privacy, and a lot of convenience, at the border in the name of national security. But when Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) releases a policy (PDF) , as they did in July 2008, which permits officials to subject travelers to suspicionless searches of their laptops, Blackberries, and other electronic devices, we believe that the line between routine and unconstitutional has clearly been crossed. In order to learn more about this alarming policy, the ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request today with CBP, a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to uncover how these suspicionless searches are threatening the constitutional rights of international travelers. "Based on current CBP policy, we have reason to believe innumerable international travelers — including U.S. citizens — have their most personal information searched by government officials and retained by the government indefinitely," said Larry Schwartztol, staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project. "The disclosure of these records is necessary to better understand the extent to which U.S. border and customs officials may be violating the Constitution." Suspicionless searches of laptops and other storage devices raise grave constitutional concerns. For one thing, the sheer quantity of data contained on a laptop or on personal electronic devices means that these searches invade travelers' most intimate personal documents — not to mention sensitive business information routinely transported by executives and lawyers. Do you know anyone whose laptop doesn't contain at least some information they want to keep confidential? Furthermore, by exposing all this information to government review, the policy may deter some travelers from maintaining documents that reflect unpopular or dissenting views, thus chilling the exercise of core First Amendment activities. And removing the requirement that agents first identify a specific basis for suspicion before instituting a search gives border agents unfettered power, which may easily be wielded in a way that discriminates on the basis of national origin or religion. We'll keep you updated on what we learn, and please let us know if your laptop or electronic device has been seized or searched at the border.
Excluded, but Not SilencedYou may remember that the ACLU is currently challenging the U.S. government’s exclusion of one of South Africa’s leading scholars and political commentators — Adam Habib a Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Johannesburg. In the fall of 2007, the State Department denied Professor Habib’s request for a U.S. visa based on the unfounded accusation that he had “engaged in terrorist activities.” To this day, the government has refused to explain or substantiate this claim, though we believe that Professor Habib — a long-time critic of the war in Iraq and other U.S. terrorism-related policies — is being excluded based solely on ideological grounds. 
This week we were happy to see Professor Habib back in the news doing what he does best — offering measured, informed commentary on South African politics (in this instance, his views on President Mbeki’s resignation). It is heartening to see that the U.S. press (as well as the European and African press) has continued to seek out Professor Habib’s expertise despite the government’s baseless claims. Publications like The New York Times, the Washington Post and Newsweek have all featured quotes from Professor Habib recently, and their articles remind us of how much Americans have to gain by engaging with Professor Habib and other foreign scholars like him. (Listen to a podcast of Professor Habib commenting on his case.) Sadly, the problem of ideological exclusion is much bigger than Professor Habib alone. We hope that under a new administration — whether Democratic or Republican — this shameful practice of excluding foreign scholars based on their political views will come to an abrupt end. A nation long heralded as the world’s leading defender of free expression debases itself when it treats words and ideas as their enemy. Tags: constitutionvoter |
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