Re: Border searches (following up on Oscar Voss' post...)

H.B. Elkins <hbelkins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/content/article/2008/08/01/laptops.html

Now I am all for increased national security, especially after 9/11, but this
borders on the ridiculous.

Who wants to bet that the majority of this scrutiny will be focused on Americans
returning from abroad, rather than foreigners entering this country? That just
isn't right.

What this in effect means is that I will now never get to visit Canada.
Routinely when I travel, I have the following with me: at least one and often
two laptops, a collection of hard drives and flash drives, a cellphone, a
digital camera, an iPhone, a GPS, a Palm handheld, my work BlackBerry, a video
camera. and a lot of paperwork. The amount of stuff I carry with me on roadtrips
would probably set off every alarm they have. I wouldn't want to be without any
of my personal electronics equipment for any amount of time, so the only way I
can avoid running the risk of having it confiscated is to either not take it
with me when I travel, which really isn't an option, or just not leaving the
country.

I wouldn't mind them copying or cloning my hard drive while I'm present, because
there's nothing bad on there, but I wouldn't want them to send me on my way
without my laptop.

Guess that means I'll never make an Ontario roadgeek meeting....

Well, it's mentioned that at this point, only visitors from elsewhere
visiting the US will be subject to possible taking of their electronic
devices, but I agree that once this kind of thing is instituted, it
would soon become universal rather than limited in use.

ISTM that this would fall under unreasonable search and seizure,
however, since even police have to show probable cause before they can
do similar acts.

John Lansford, PE
--
John's Shop of Wood
http://wood.jlansford.net/
.

Relevant Pages

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