Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetpea
There's a deeper issue here. They'll probably won't do a lot if you have a pirated copy of a book. But in the mean time you don't have access to your property, which can cause you distress. It could contain sensitive data, or data you need the next day (because of that meeting which caused you to travel across the border).
I get the feeling (as an outsider) that the US is more and more the country of a paranoid government who, despite their words, think that everybody is guilty unless proven innocent.
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Your first paragraph covers it pretty well. They can seize and search anything including private business documents, your love letters, Obama's secret birth certificate (oh, wait, that's supposedly fiction), anything while they have your device. It could be your cell phone - it is open ended. They take and ship it off to forensics. You get it back when they are finished.
I won't address your second point.
As someone mentioned, no lipping off to them. I recall coming back from a ski trip, two of us in the car. Customs guy on re-entry. There are two of you and THREE pairs of skis - how come? It was hard not to point out his failing eyesight - there were 4 pairs of skis. We just said they were different types of skis.