• kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world
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    7 hours ago

    Under the border search exception, federal officers may generally conduct routine, warrantless searches of persons and items entering the United States without reasonable suspicion or probable cause of unlawful activity. However, stops and searches conducted in areas farther from the border may require at least heightened suspicion or probable cause of unlawful activity to withstand Fourth Amendment scrutiny.

    https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt4-6-6-3/ALDE_00000239/

    They can do warrantless searches. Just not within the entire 100 mile border. A fair distinction, but they definitely can at the border and ports of entry, and do so routinely.

    • GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world
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      7 hours ago

      Yeh that’s very different to saying they can in the whole 100mil area.

      At an airport or actual border crossing yeah, I can understand that. They’d only be doing it when they have a big suspicion of something, at least you’d hope. According to them it’s like 0.01% of people a year.

      • kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world
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        7 hours ago

        They’d only be doing it when they have a big suspicion of something, at least you’d hope.

        Nope. They often do it entirely randomly. I’ve seen videos of them pulling over multiple vehicles to be searched simultaneously at a crossing before.

        • GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world
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          1 hour ago

          Oh I was more talking about the mobile phone checking then just a physical search of a car. Random car searches make sense as a deterrent.