Thomas Kennedy sues after CBP search of his phone at Miami airport

The case puts border searches of travelers’ devices and disputes over copied data back in focus.

An Argentinian-American writer and immigration advocate, Thomas Kennedy, has sued the federal government after a Customs and Border Protection agent at Miami International Airport searched his bags, questioned him about his reading material, and took his phone when he returned to the United States. Kennedy says the agent pressured him to surrender the device by warning that the process would take much longer and that CBP could keep the phone indefinitely. The complaint, which is seven pages long, asks the government to delete data he believes was copied from the phone during the inspection. The story matters because it shows how border agents can demand access to a traveler’s device at entry and why that can trigger privacy and data-retention disputes.