Authority to search
The Congress of the United States has authorized CBP to enforce all homeland security-related laws and laws of other federal agencies at the border and to conduct searches and examinations necessary to assure compliance with those laws. CBP’s broad authority therefore allows us to conduct searches of people and their baggage, cargo, and means of transportation entering the United States.

The laws and regulations we enforce include (but are not limited to):

• Admissibility of aliens
• Importation of agriculture, plant, and animal products
• Importation of goods, animals and produce
• Transportation and reporting of currency and other monetary instruments
• Exportation of weapons and items subject to defense trade controls

What to expect during a CBP examination
The CBP officer may request specific, detailed information about your travel, may inspect your baggage, or may conduct a personal search.

If you are subject to inspection, you should be treated in a courteous, dignified, and professional manner. However, please keep in mind that this is a law enforcement environment, and travelers who are intent on breaking the law will attempt to find out what the officer is doing in order to avoid detection. For this reason, our CBP officers may not answer specific questions about an examination that is underway. You may always ask to speak with a CBP supervisor.

Why you may be chosen for an inspection
You may be subjected to an inspection for a variety of reasons including but not limited to:

• Your travel documents are incomplete, or you do not have the proper documents or visa;
• You have previously violated one of the laws CBP enforces;
• You have a name that matches a person of interest in one of the government’s enforcement databases; or
• You have been selected for a random search.

A search may not be made on any discriminatory basis (e.g., solely based on race, gender, religion, ethnic background).

Collection of personal information
CBP collects information about people traveling into and out of the United States. This includes basic biographic data, travel documents and their unique identifiers, where the traveler is staying in the U.S., and the planned purpose for the traveler’s visit. This information may be collected from a traveler at a port of entry, or, in the case of international air and sea travel, it may be collected before a traveler’s arrival in or departure from the U.S. This information is used to determinethe admissibility of aliens and to effectively and efficiently enforce U.S. laws at the border. CBP also collects pertinent data about businesses, vehicles, aircraft, and vessels related to the laws we enforce.

CBP receives and shares this type of information as appropriate with other federal, state, and local agencies. CBP may query its record systems to ensure compliance with U.S. customs, immigration, agriculture, and other federal laws. For example, our border enforcement systems provide officers with access to information on outstanding watches and warrants; stolen vehicles, vessels or firearms; license information; criminal histories; and previous federal inspections.

Privacy protection
CBP stores all data we collect in secure computer systems on a secure network. CBP is committed to protecting travelers’ personal data consistent with U.S. laws. We have privacy protections in place to properly safeguard this data. We also have policies in place to prevent misuse and those policies are regularly evaluated and updated to ensure continued security and protection.

Customer service contacts