The article is not that clear in one way. Does this only apply to non-US Citizens ?

Anybody crossing the border. The justification is that the government's constitutional right to control imports overrides the 4th amendment right to privacy.

>“The border-search exception is grounded in the recognized right of the sovereign to control, subject to substantive limitations imposed by the Constitution, who and what may enter the country.” Id. at 620. Because “[t]he Government’s interest in preventing the entry of unwanted persons and effects is at its zenith at the international border,” United States v. Flores-Montano, 541 U.S. 149, 152 (2004), “searches made at the border, pursuant to the long-standing right of the sovereign to protect itself by stopping and examining persons and property crossing into this country, are reasonable simply by virtue of the fact that they occur at the border,” Ramsey, 431 U.S. at 616.

https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/OPN/24-960_complete_o...

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howdyhowdy an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Worse though, is that the definition of border is hella loose. CBP can be many MANY miles away from an actual border and do this.

	▲	jwineinger 24 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		from https://www.help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1253?language=en_... > Immigration Officers, without a warrant, may "within a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States...board and search for non-citizens in any vessel within the territorial waters of the United States and any railcar, aircraft, conveyance, or vehicle. 8 CFR 287 (a)(1) defines reasonable distance as 100 air miles from the border. from https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/border-zone > Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population, over 213 million people, reside within the region that CBP considers falling within the 100-mile border zone, according to the 2020 census. Most of the 10 largest cities in the U.S., such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, fall in this region. Some states, like Florida, lie entirely within this border band so their entire populations are impacted.
	▲	mingus88 27 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		100 miles to be clear. So many major cities are free reign. Entire counties. https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/border-zone

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petcat an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

So the argument is basically that Americans already consent to allowing customs to search anything and everything that they are physically bringing across the border, whether a US citizen or not, and now that is also affirmed to include the digital contents of electronic devices.

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tocs3 an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Near the top of the article:

“Today’s decision leaves Americans’ most sensitive information open to search at the border without any suspicion at all,”

I think this is just an extension of a general we, as government officials protecting American freedoms, can do what we want and will justify it later if we have to policy.

It should probably be noted that this specific case led to a conviction of an actual crime (Bank fraud and money laundering).

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netsharc an hour ago | parent [-]

East Germany built a wall to keep their citizens "free" of "fascist elements"...

	▲	tekla an hour ago \| parent [-]
		You understand that no one actually believed that lie. It was built to stop people from running to west Germany.