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The Federal government has always had broad lateral regulatory powers over the influx and outflux of people and goods across the border, citizens or not. The U.

The Federal government has always had broad lateral regulatory powers over the influx and outflux of people and goods across the border, citizens or not. The U.S. has had laws on the book to this effect all the way back to 1789. This is one of the defining features of a sovereign country. There's not a single country on planet earth that doesn't permit searches at the border. See for yourself: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1855&context=ilj https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?a...

jacquesm 1y ago
Thank you for entirely missing the point here and illustrating mine by being one of those good people that keep on justifying what is happening by pointing to legal texts. In what world do you think it is normal for border patrol to search private devices? I've crossed in and out of former East Germany and Poland when they were still behind the iron curtain and never ever had to so much as show what I had in my pockets. By the time countries like that were examples to be held up to countries that nominally value personal freedom, freedom of expression and freedom from political and religious persecution you have to wonder if you are not in the words of Mitchell and Webb 'the baddies'.
- chrisco255 1y ago
  > I've crossed in and out of former East Germany and Poland when they were still behind the iron curtain and never ever had to so much as show what I had in my pockets. I know there were exceptions for Yugoslavians and others but in general, for especially USSR citizens and Western German citizens, the flow of people across the iron curtain was incredibly regulated and especially soviets trying to flee east Germany were regularly executed. So please spare me your diatribe. The guards, if they chose to at any time, could have detained you and questioned you. The police could have searched you at any time anywhere in the USSR whether you were a citizen or not. In Russia this is still the case to this day. Of course all sovereign countries, whether "bad or not" reserve the right to search anything you seek to drag into their borders. This goes without saying! No country is under an obligation to host you, you are a guest. And no country has to subject itself to sabotage, political incitement, criminal activity, foreign lobbying, espionage, etc, from foreigners. Period. You don't have a right to import anything in to any country without it being potentially searched. That is called border control. Every country does it to some extent, some more thoroughly than others.

jacquesm 1y ago

Thank you for entirely missing the point here and illustrating mine by being one of those good people that keep on justifying what is happening by pointing to legal texts. In what world do you think it is normal for border patrol to search private devices? I've crossed in and out of former East Germany and Poland when they were still behind the iron curtain and never ever had to so much as show what I had in my pockets. By the time countries like that were examples to be held up to countries that nominally value personal freedom, freedom of expression and freedom from political and religious persecution you have to wonder if you are not in the words of Mitchell and Webb 'the baddies'.

chrisco255 1y ago
> I've crossed in and out of former East Germany and Poland when they were still behind the iron curtain and never ever had to so much as show what I had in my pockets. I know there were exceptions for Yugoslavians and others but in general, for especially USSR citizens and Western German citizens, the flow of people across the iron curtain was incredibly regulated and especially soviets trying to flee east Germany were regularly executed. So please spare me your diatribe. The guards, if they chose to at any time, could have detained you and questioned you. The police could have searched you at any time anywhere in the USSR whether you were a citizen or not. In Russia this is still the case to this day. Of course all sovereign countries, whether "bad or not" reserve the right to search anything you seek to drag into their borders. This goes without saying! No country is under an obligation to host you, you are a guest. And no country has to subject itself to sabotage, political incitement, criminal activity, foreign lobbying, espionage, etc, from foreigners. Period. You don't have a right to import anything in to any country without it being potentially searched. That is called border control. Every country does it to some extent, some more thoroughly than others.