Government Data Regarding Electronic Device Searches
In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by the ACLU, the government released three spreadsheets that present gender, race and citizenship data compiled by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors in border searches involving electronic devices between October 1, 2008 and June 2, 2010.
According to this data, a total of 6,671 travelers were subject to electronic media searches at the border during this twenty-month time frame. Nearly half of these people were U.S. citizens.
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Gender | Total |
Female (F) | 832 |
Male (M) | 5537 |
Unknown | 302 |
Grand Total | 6671 |
Race | Total |
Asian (A) | 585 |
Black or African American (B) | 652 |
American Indian or Alaska Native (I) | 33 |
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (P) | 1 |
Unknown (U) | 1672 |
White (W) | 3461 |
(blank) | 267 |
Grand Total | 6671 |
Citizenship | Total |
United Arab Emirates (AE) | 6 |
Afghanistan (AF) | 22 |
Antigua & Barbuda (AG) | 1 |
Albania ( AL ) | 15 |
Armenia (AM) | 1 |
Angola (AO) | 1 |
Argentina (AR) | 2 |
Austria (AT) | 4 |
Australia (AU) | 21 |
Bosnia and Hercegovina (BA) | 3 |
Bangladesh (BD) | 5 |
Belgium (BE) | 6 |
Bulgaria (BG) | 6 |
Bahrain (BH) | 3 |
Burundi (BI) | 1 |
Benin (BJ) | 1 |
Bosnia and Hercegovina (BK) | 2 |
Bolivia (BO) | 1 |
Brazil (BR) | 14 |
Belize (BZ) | 3 |
Canada (CA) | 1477 |
Congo (CG) | 1 |
Switzerland (CH) | 6 |
Ivory Coast (CI) | 5 |
Chile (CL) | 1 |
Cameroon (CM) | 1 |
China (Mainland) (CN) | 47 |
Colombia (CO) | 27 |
Costa Rica (CR) | 4 |
Cuba (CU) | 11 |
Cyprus (CY) | 1 |
Czech Republic (CZ) | 1 |
Germany (West) Federal Republic (DE) | 20 |
Djibouti (DJ) | 2 |
Denmark (DK) | 4 |
Dominican Republic (DO) | 20 |
Algeria (DZ) | 5 |
Ecuador (EC) | 4 |
Egypt (EG) | 29 |
Estonia (EN) | 2 |
Eritrea (ER) | 2 |
Spain (ES) | 7 |
Ethiopia (ET) | 3 |
Finland (FI) | 2 |
Fiji (FJ) | 2 |
France (FR) | 34 |
Gabon (GA) | 1 |
United Kingdom (GB) | 94 |
Germany (Unified) (GE) | 13 |
Georgia (GG) | 2 |
Ghana (GH) | 2 |
Guinea (GN) | 2 |
Greece (GR) | 6 |
Guatemala (GT) | 6 |
Guam (GU) | 1 |
Guyana (GY) | 6 |
Hong Kong SAR (HK) | 1 |
Honduras (HN) | 7 |
Haiti (HT) | 6 |
Hungary (HU) | 2 |
Indonesia (ID) | 13 |
Ireland (IE) | 7 |
Israel (IL) | 15 |
India (IN) | 47 |
Iraq (IQ) | 14 |
Iran (IR) | 46 |
Iceland (IS) | 3 |
Italy (IT) | 21 |
Jamaica (JM) | 7 |
Jordan (JO) | 26 |
Japan (JP) | 20 |
Kenya (KE) | 7 |
Cambodia (KH) | 2 |
St. Christopher- Nevis (KN) | 1 |
Korea , Republic (South) (KR) | 14 |
Kosovo (KV) | 1 |
Kuwait (KW) | 8 |
Cayman Islands (KY) | 2 |
Kazakstahn (KZ) | 1 |
Laos (LA) | 2 |
Lebanon (LB) | 43 |
Lithuania (LH) | 2 |
Liechtenstein (LI) | 1 |
Sri Lanka (LK) | 3 |
Lithuania (LT) | 1 |
Libya (LY) | 12 |
Morroco (MA) | 19 |
Midway Islands (MI) | 1 |
Macedonia (MK) | 4 |
Mali (ML) | 7 |
Mongolia (MN) | 1 |
Mauritania (MR) | 1 |
Mauritius (MU) | 1 |
Malawi (MW) | 1 |
Mexico (MX) | 165 |
Malaysia (MY) | 5 |
Nigeria (NG) | 51 |
Nicaragua (NI) | 4 |
Netherlands (NL) | 27 |
Norway (NO) | 3 |
Nepal (NP) | 1 |
New Zealand (NZ) | 6 |
Panama (PA) | 3 |
Peru (PE) | 11 |
Philippines (PH) | 63 |
Pakistan (PK) | 74 |
Poland (PL) | 6 |
Puerto Rico (PR) | 2 |
Palestine (PS) | 7 |
Portugal (PT) | 1 |
Paraguay (PY) | 1 |
Qatar (QA) | 2 |
Romania (RO) | 5 |
Russia (Historical) (RS) | 6 |
Russia (RU) | 13 |
Rwanda (RW) | 1 |
Saudi Arabia (SA) | 84 |
Sudan (SD) | 3 |
Sweden (SE) | 12 |
Singapore (SG) | 3 |
Slovakia (SK) | 1 |
Senegal (SN) | 1 |
Somalia (SO) | 74 |
Soviet Socialist Reps Union ( USSR ) (SU) | 2 |
El Salvador (SV) | 8 |
Syria (SY) | 9 |
Thailand (TH) | 8 |
Tokelau Islands (TK) | 1 |
Tunisia (TN) | 3 |
Tonga (TO) | 1 |
Turkey (TR) | 15 |
Trinidad and Tobago (TT) | 5 |
China ( Taiwan ) (TW) | 4 |
Tanzania (TZ) | 2 |
Ukraine (UA) | 13 |
Uganda (UG) | 3 |
Ukraine (UP) | 2 |
United States (US) | 2995 |
Uzbekistan (UZ) | 8 |
Vatican City (VA) | 1 |
St. Vincent and the Grenadines (VC) | 1 |
Venezuela (VE) | 12 |
Vietnam (VN) | 11 |
Unknown (XX) | 6 |
Yemen Arab Republic (Sanaa) (Obsolete) (YE) | 11 |
Yemen , Republic of (Sanaa) (YM) | 8 |
Yugoslavia (Includes Serbia , Montenegro ) (YU) | 1 |
South Africa , Republic (ZA) | 4 |
(blank) | 563 |
Grand Total | 6671 |