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Definition[]

When a border search becomes more intrusive than a routine border search it is referred to as a non-routine border search.

Overview[]

For non-routine border searches, courts have reevaluated the individual and state interests involved and have generally required the government to possess at least reasonable suspicion to conduct such searches.[1] That is because the Fourth Amendment balancing test survives at the border, and "the reasonableness of a particular stop must be gauged by comparing the degree of the intrusion with the grounds for the suspicion that intrusion is called for."[2] For both inbound and outbound traffic, customs agents may conduct non-routine searches at the border or its functional equivalent, but only if they reasonably suspect the traveler is smuggling contraband and the search is limited in scope.[3]

References[]

  1. United States v. Flores-Montano, 541 U.S. 149, 152 (2004) (full-text).
  2. United States v. Price, 599 F.2d 494, 499 (2d Cir. 1979) (full-text).
  3. United States v. Roberts, 274 F.2d 1007, 1012-14 (5th Cir. 2001) (full-text).

See also[]