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The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. warned Chinese nationals to be careful about electronic devices they bring to the U.S. after news reports suggested that the U.S. customs officials had detected illegal information on devices and banned people from entering the country.
According to U.S. law, law enforcement officers at the U.S. border control have the right to examine people, including U.S. citizens, who enter and exit the country.
They can check their nationality, entry purpose and the electronic devices they bring with them, the Embassy of China in the U.S. said in a warning on Thursday.
The notice said that the U.S. law enforcers can search passengers without applying for a search warrant beforehand.
Also, their rights are not limited by the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which stresses the right to resist unreasonable searches and seizures.
The embassy also said it had received reports from Chinese nationals who crossed the U.S. border saying their phones and computers were examined by U.S. border law enforcers.
Some U.S. media reports also said the U.S. side refused entry to some who brought electronic devices that contain illegal information, and some were even prosecuted, it said.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in January that these searches are essential to enforcing the law at the U.S. border and to protecting border security.
