Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searches on domestic flights

Re:Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searc... by Chaebixi on Monday March 12, 2018 @05:12PM (#16571678)

Depends on who you are, whose border, and which direction.

If you're an American returning from abroad, my understanding is the most they can do is detain you (briefly) and confiscate your electronic devices for a limited period of time. Americans can't be denied re-entry to the US. So go ahead and refuse as a political statement, the worst that could happen is you'll miss your connection and you'll have to use a temporary phone for a bit.

But if you're a foreign citizen, it's probably best to swallow your pride and comply.

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Re:Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searc... by toomuchtodo on Monday March 12, 2018 @05:18PM (#16571739)

As it relates to an American returning from abroad, it doesn't appear what "briefly" means. From about 5 minutes of Googling, it appears anywhere up to 12 hours of detention is possible (based on a 2008 CBP internal memo).

Detentions have lasted more than 24 hours though, sometimes for days:

"Median Number of Hours Individuals Were Held in Detention, by Sector"

https://i.imgur.com/MNYTJzF.png

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