Deleting Your Phone at a U.S. Airport Can Lead to Federal Charges

A federal grand jury indicted Samuel Tunick for wiping his own phone after border agents demanded his passcode at Atlanta airport, citing a law that makes such destruction a crime.

Border and Customs officials examined more than 55,000 smartphones, laptops and tablets at U.S. entry points last year, a six-fold increase since 2015, though it still represents a tiny share of the 400 million travelers processed. Samuel Tunick was stopped at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in January 2025, gave agents his passcode, then triggered a built-in duress command that wiped the device. A federal grand jury in Atlanta indicted him in November 2025, charging him with destroying property to prevent lawful seizure, an offense that can carry a five-year prison term.

The indictment underscores the tension between longstanding border-search exemptions, which permit warrantless searches of luggage and devices, and Supreme Court decisions like Riley v. California and Carpenter v. United States that demand warrants for phone data. While the 11th Circuit allows full forensic searches without suspicion, other circuits are moving toward requiring at least reasonable suspicion, and the Supreme Court has yet to resolve the split. Until legislation or a high court ruling changes the rule, travelers cannot rely on constitutional protections to shield their phones at the border.