The Electronic Frontier Foundation joined ACLU affiliates in urging the Fourth Circuit to require warrants for border searches of electronic devices, arguing such searches violate the Fourth Amendment. In the case of U.S. v. Belmonte Cardozo, a U.S. citizen's phone was manually searched at Dulles Airport, revealing child sexual abuse material that led to criminal charges. The brief represents nearly a decade of EFF's advocacy on digital privacy at borders.

In Fiscal Year 2025 alone, Customs and Border Protection conducted 55,318 device searches at U.S. borders. These searches range from manual "basic" searches where officers tap around a device to "advanced" forensic extractions that analyze data to create detailed activity reports. Both methods can access highly personal information including political affiliations, religious beliefs, health conditions, and intimate relationships.

EFF argues the Fourth Circuit should apply the same warrant standard to both manual and forensic searches, citing the Supreme Court's reasoning in Riley v. California. The brief emphasizes that travelers' privacy interests in electronic devices far exceed those in physical luggage, especially as modern devices contain even more intimate personal data than existed when Riley was decided a decade ago.