Appeals Court Upholds Warrantless Cellphone Searches at Border

A federal appeals court has ruled that border agents may manually search travelers' cellphones without a warrant, probable cause, or reasonable suspicion, affirming a broad government authority at international ports of entry. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued the decision on September 17, 2026, in the case of United States v. Alisigwe. The ruling upholds the conviction of Chinwendu Alisigwe, a lawful permanent resident, on charges of bank fraud and money laundering. Evidence used against him was obtained from two manual searches of his cellphone by Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2019 and 2021. Officers scrolled through the device and photographed images from its screen, which included personal information of other individuals. Writing for the majority, Judge Steven Menashi stated that "no suspicion is required before the government searches a traveler's property at the border." The court reasoned that because a cellphone is considered property, its manual inspection qualifies as a routine border search under longstanding precedent.