美国第二巡回法院裁定允许边境搜查电子设备无需合理怀疑

美国第二巡回上诉法院裁定，边境特工可以在没有任何合理怀疑的情况下搜查旅客的电子设备1。该裁决涉及刑事案件United States v. Alisigwe，其中政府依赖从被告手机的两次无证搜查获得的证据1。

哥伦比亚大学言论自由研究所和新闻自由记者委员会提交了意见书，主张应要求政府在搜查边境电子设备前获得搜查令，但法院驳回了这些论点1。言论自由研究所高级律师Scott Wilkens表示："今日的裁决使美国人最敏感的信息在边境处于完全开放的搜查状态，且无需任何怀疑"1。地方法院在2023年11月驳回了被告的证据排除动议1。言论自由研究所的Wilkens在2025年3月在第二巡回法院出庭进行了辩论1。

The United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that border agents may search travelers' electronic devices without any reasonable suspicion 1. The decision, arising from the criminal case United States v. Alisigwe, upheld the government's authority to conduct such searches at borders, rejecting arguments that warrant requirements should apply to electronic device searches 1.

The ruling came despite opposition from civil liberties organizations, including the Columbia University Free Speech Clinic and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which had filed amicus briefs urging the court to require the government to obtain a search warrant before searching electronic devices at the border 1. Scott Wilkens, a senior attorney at the Free Speech Clinic, responded to the decision by stating: "Today's decision leaves Americans' most sensitive information open to search at the border without any suspicion at all" 1.

The case involved evidence obtained from two warrantless searches of the defendant's phone. A lower court declined to exclude this evidence in November 2023, and the matter proceeded to oral arguments before the Second Circuit in March 2025 1.