Good thinking. I do usually let family/friends know when I’m about 45m out from the border, but more for ETA times…but I like your thinking here. I HAVE been stopped & harassed by bored / crabby border guards on 2 occasions, but it was many years ago. Now I’m ‘grandma age,’ and once they ask me what I purchased and I start my meandering monologue of fabrics, trims, & knick-knacks, they can’t wait to get rid of me and wave me on thru as fast as they can.
Indeed — and passports are now required for kids & babies as well.
Adults can also use an Enhanced driver’s license for land & sea border crossings between the US and Canada/Mexico, the Caribbean & Bermuda, but I’m increasingly less comfortable with that these days & carry my full passport & Global Entry card as well.
For the OP: As a natural-born US citizen, I’ve had no troubles crossing back into the US this year, and have done it probably a half-dozen times. But as I say, I do also have a Global Entry card. I got it to make things go faster as I travel a lot. Not sure exactly how much it reduces my risk on the “hassle scale,” but I’m guessing it’s a lot…so if you’re concerned, it might be worth checking out.
So, on one of those previous stops at the US border I mentioned, I’ll tell you how this worked:
When I asked what would happen if I refused to comply with their ‘requests’ to do things like 1) let them go through my purse, 2) sign a waiver that I was ‘voluntarily’ giving up my Canadian purchases, 3) unlock my phone etc, I was told that I could certainly refuse…and then my mom and I would be assigned a room where we could sit and wait until they got back with us.
We were specifically not told how long that would take, or what “getting back with us” would entail. We were not offered the ability to make a call on the phone that they’d taken possession of…etc. (I think you get the picture.)
In the end, I opted to do as requested so I could get my elderly mother home…but tbh, I was so angry that if it had just been myself (or perhaps my also-stubborn brother and me) it’s possible we’d still be sitting in that cold locked room today.
I didn’t say they can’t give you a hard time and yes they can temporarily confiscate your devices. But in my case, I’d forfeit my devices rather than give a border agent access to my financial records and accounts. Short of my cooperation, a border agent (or agency) may have ample time but I do not believe they typically have the resources to get past my layers of passwords and into my financial files and accounts. If that changes in the future, there are plenty of layers I can and will add.
But most people will simply fold and give in if confronted by the “authority” of a border agent.
You bring up such good points here - and I am sorry this happened to you.
It happened to a loved one of mine as well. As Mike Tyson says, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” When you are jet lagged, hungry, need to go to the bathroom, and confused about what language you’re supposed to be speaking, it definitely feels like a punch in the mouth when someone you love is whisked away without explanation to an unknown location by a man with a gun. That is why it is critically important to have a plan ahead of time and practice, practice, practice.
I personally have absolutely nothing to hide! I am so boring. I am not politically active, use social media only to check the weather, I’ve never done drugs, I never buy much so don’t have to declare any purchases - but I still have a plan.
For me that includes eating, drinking, and using the bathroom before I approach CBP. I also take my essential daily medications and keep an extra supply in my pocket. That way if I am detained I am not physically stressed and if they keep me for many hours, as happened to my loved one, I’ll have my essential medication available (they will take your bags, so keep the medication on your person). I always let a loved one know exactly where I am and when I’m about to cross the border, and they have instructions to contact my attorney if they do not hear from me in a reasonable amount of time. I have my attorney’s number and those of my closest friends and family memorized, so if they take my phone I can still have that information in my head. And of course that attorney is an immigration attorney - I consulted with one in advance and paid a retainer so he’ll take my call if I ever need to make one (the worst time to try to find an immigration attorney is when you are in desperate need of one; the best time is when you don’t need one at all) I’ve read and re-read materials like “Digital Privacy at the US Border” (And by the way, @OnTheRoadAgain , they do clarify in that document, from 2017, that even then CBP had ample resources to get into your files and accounts)
In a way having my loved one whisked away like that was a gift - it wasn’t until that happened that I realized it could happen to anyone. We never learned why they were detained but those were some of the scariest hours of my life - no one would tell me where they were or when I could see them. I was terrified. And that terror informs a lot of my caution since then - the world we used to live in, where citizens were presumed innocent until proven guilty, where privacy was a right we took for granted - that world no longer exists. We can cry about it or we can prepare, prepare, prepare. Eat those snacks, stay hydrated, and for Heavens’ sake go to the bathroom before you get in line!
Maybe they did in 2017. That was a LONG time ago in the tech world. Things have changed quite a bit with account security in the Apple world since 2017.
Yes, of course we have current passports. We visited British Columbia in September 2024 and of course, it was no trouble coming or going. But that was before January 2025.
I think the take-away from your responses is that we have to remove app icons from our phones and laptops. Especially icons to our password vault, for example, which resides on the cloud.
CBP will fall asleep looking at my emails and non-presence in social media. But I sure as heck do not want them accessing our financial info.
And yes, letting a family member know exactly when we are about to re-enter the US is a very good idea. Just in case.
Oh, are any of you folks a member of the NEXUS program? It’s about $125 US per person. If so, have you found it useful in this current environment?
“The NEXUS program is a joint initiative between the United States and Canada designed to expedite border crossings for pre-approved, low-risk travelers.”
It’s a good idea, but unfortunately keeping meds or anything else in your pocket doesn’t help. My first interaction with a bored cranky border agent (at the ripe old age of 23), he literally made me turn my jean pockets inside out. Then he dumped all my medications from the bottles in my purse out onto the counter, and made me explain what each one was, why I had it, why did I bring it, etc etc.; then he accused me of lying when I told him I always bring ALL my meds with me because I traveled for weeks at a time for work. It was 2am, it was just the two of us, I was exhausted, and I still had 2h left to drive to my next site…frankly I was just relieved when he finally sent me on my way.
In any case, I appreciate the empathy — and of course now they’re just funny travel stories I tell at parties. But what you said does stand true: it’s easy to talk about what you’d do and how you’ll demand your rights, until you’re standing in a freezing cold room by yourself or with vulnerable family members, being menaced by people with uniforms, badges and weapons. (And that was when we could still be reasonably certain the actual laws would be followed.)
The good news is that right now, it really does not happen very often to natural-born US citizens — if you’re polite, follow the rules, don’t act suspicious, have your ID, etc.
I have Nexxus automatically via my Global Entry membership. It’s fantastic for getting back into the US quickly; it’s literally saved me hours of time on some crossings — although they’ve said the version I have thru GE doesn’t work for the fast lane INTO Canada, for some reason.
(And btw, my crossings these days are between WA and BC…usually I use the Peace Arch crossing. I’ve never had an issue there, ever.)
That is good to know, about the meds. One of mine is absolutely essential to my daily functioning and I always assumed that if it was in my pockets I’d get to keep it with me. Guess I have to get one of those secret rings or something? But probably they’ll take my jewelry too….sigh.
Yeah, the days when we could be reasonably certain the actual laws would be followed. I sure miss those days.
I expect if you told them “I need to take this medication at xx o’clock,” they’re not going to risk someone having a seizure at the border due to them withholding it. That would be a mighty bad look on International news.
My point was probably more that you shouldn’t expect them not to make you empty your pockets — they WILL. They emptied every single thing from my car as well, took my bags and devices, etc.
The CBP website instructs you to carry all meds in their original containers with their labels, and additionally advises that you carry written copies of the scrips. I don’t usually find the latter to be necessary, but am aware they might confiscate meds in unlabelled containers, so that’s what I do, now.
Indeed; here as well. I just had to request a copy of all my scrips for the purpose of traveling internationally, as I’m going further afield this time & want to be extra sure I’m good. It looks more like a letter from the doctor confirming the medication order.
I use ChatGPT. In response to a query “Can CBP force US citizens to open their cellphone at a border crossing?” ChatGPT generates a detailed bullet list of the issues. The summary of that info is
“5. Practical takeaway:
Yes, CBP can demand access to your phone at the border.
You can refuse to give them your password, but they may seize the device temporarily and question you more extensively.”
