"Under recently disclosed Department of Homeland Security policies, such seizures may be carried out without suspicion of wrongdoing, the newspaper said, quoting policies issued on July 16 by two DHS agencies."
"DHS officials said the policies applied to anyone entering the country, including U.S. citizens, and were needed to prevent terrorism."
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"ps not an lp member so stop beating that drum. the drum is tired and wants to go home now, to the family that loves it. i haven’t even mentioned PRECIOUS PRECIOUS GOLD or ferrets or anything." - dhex
Re: Fourth Amendment Is For Losers: US Border Agents Can Seize L
Grrrrrreeeeaaaaaatttttt!
"Discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes" -Marcel Proust
Re: Fourth Amendment Is For Losers: US Border Agents Can Seize
I will offer the weak defense that borders have long been held to have a slightly different set of rules. That said, this boils down to "we can take your stuf for any reason or no reason, 'cause we're the government, and if you don't like it, you can pound sand." Time to start encrypting EVERYTHING, I think.
Re: Fourth Amendment Is For Losers: US Border Agents Can Seize
Alas I think this policy would just mean that you'd never get your stuff back at all if you encrypt.
What's with Over-Long Subjects?
I keep seeing this as someone barking, "The Fourth Amendment is for closers!"
Re: Fourth Amendment Is For Losers: US Border Agents Can Seize L
I'd say this is more of an affront to the Fifth Amendment. Having your property seized without due process can still shock the conscious. Having your person, papers, and effects searched is what happens when you cross international borders. The fact that you're crossing counts as Probable Cause I guess.
seriously though, i think you're crazy on this. and you think i'm crazy. everybody wins! - dhex
Re: Fourth Amendment Is For Losers: US Border Agents Can Seize L
Perhaps as a matter of constitutional law the standards at the border can and should be a bit lower. Perhaps.
But as a matter of prudent policy, indiscriminate confiscation of personal belongings seems like a REALLY bad idea. Even if borders don't pose the same rights issues under the law, confiscation without any suspicion of wrongdoing seems like an inefficient way to stop/prevent wrongdoing.
"the only thing worse than a freeper is a blue state freeper that doesn't realize they're a freeper." -dhex
hoisted by their own waterboard!
-dhex
Re: Fourth Amendment Is For Losers: US Border Agents Can Seize
Probably. Encrypt, back up, and encrypt your backups. And booby-trap your devices so that unauthorized access attempts set off the C-4 under the keyboard. :-)
Re: Fourth Amendment Is For Losers: US Border Agents Can Seize
Just not, you know, your keyboard. ;)
Re: Fourth Amendment Is For Losers: US Border Agents Can Seize L
You can't encrypt "books, pamphlets and other written materials," which they also claim they can confiscate. If I take my diary with me to Nova Scotia this fall, the government is claiming the right to confiscate and read it. If I leave it at home and choose instead to write entries on stationery paper I keep in my purse, they're saying they can take that, too. If I buy a beautiful $200 coffee-table book in Canada, they can confiscate that.
Re: Fourth Amendment Is For Losers
Sadly relevant.