Border agents must get warrants to search your phone
H.R. 2604 — Protecting Data at the Border Act · Filed by Ted Lieu (D-CA) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 2, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill restricts U.S. border agents from searching the digital contents of travelers' phones, computers, and online accounts without a warrant based on probable cause—a protection the Supreme Court recognized in Riley v. California. It allows emergency exceptions for imminent danger or national security threats, requires written consent for voluntary searches, and mandates annual public reporting on how often agents access digital data at the border, broken down by citizenship, country of origin, and perceived race/ethnicity.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a Fourth Amendment safeguard—requiring warrants for digital searches at the border and excluding unlawfully obtained evidence. It is a civil-liberties measure, not a regulatory or appropriations instrument.
What the text implies
- The bill's savings clause preserves FISA authority, meaning foreign intelligence surveillance at the border may proceed without the warrant requirement—creating a potential gap if agents classify a search as FISA-related rather than criminal.
- Recordkeeping requirements include perceived race/ethnicity data, which may expose disparate-impact patterns in border searches but could also create privacy risks if the data is misused or breached.
- The 4-hour delay cap is absolute; agents cannot extend it even if they are close to obtaining a warrant, potentially incentivizing agents to seek warrants proactively rather than rely on consent.
- Seizure of equipment is permitted only if there is probable cause of a felony—a higher bar than current practice, which may reduce the government's ability to preserve evidence in lower-level cases.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill strengthens Fourth Amendment protections for U.S. citizens at the border by requiring warrants for digital searches, eliminating the current "border exception" that permits warrantless device searches. Citizens gain explicit rights to refuse searches without penalty (beyond a 4-hour delay), written notice of their rights, and public transparency through mandatory reporting. The emergency carve-out is narrow and time-limited, and unlawfully obtained data is excluded from evidence.
Named in the bill
Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Border Patrol, Supreme Court, Federal courts, Congress
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 4 Democrats.
- Apr 2, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Apr 2, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Homeland Security and House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (18,977 characters) on Aug 18, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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