Preparing To Cross the US Border

US Border Prep

Preparing To Cross the US Border

This article describes the steps I take before entering the United States of America. I'm an American citizen and I'm not aware of having done anything illegal other than exercise free speech, but I'm still concerned about being detailed at the border, which I'm scheduled to cross on Thursday, December 18, 2025. I'm still bothered by some things that happened to me earlier this year. Maybe I'm paranoid. Then again, a foreigner got blocked for having a meme on their phone, and an American got arrested and went to jail for having a meme on theirs; maybe I'm not planning to do enough or I'm actually taking too much risk just by going to the USA. I'm sure CBP (Customs and Border Patrol: immigration), ICE (Immigration and Customers Enforcement: immigration), or some other shadowy group could detain me if they really wanted, with or without charges or evidence. If I'm paranoid, then there's no risk in publishing this or taking all these actions, right? And maybe this guidance could help someone else or warn them away from the country - if a US citizen feels like this, I can't imagine how a tourist or immigrant would feel.

In one possible way, I'm lucky, because there are many John Wests in the world, so proving which things online are associated with me could be time-consuming. If they ask me why things look fishy on my devices, I would explain that I'm paranoid, trying to reduce technology use, and specifically tried to break my social media addiction when I left twitter. If they ask for my social media accounts, I would give them my two ancient twitter handles and say that I created a Facebook account in maybe 2004 or 2005, never used it, never gave them my phone number of drivers license or whatever, and don't know how to log in to it (all of this is actually true).

I doubt they would think to ask for github credentials, but everything risky there is here anyway, and their systems likely know that I own this domain. If they ask for my WordPress, I'm could be screwed for things I've posted there. If they ask about LinkedIn specifically, I would say that I'm retired and hibernated it. If they force it, I'm probably screwed, because I use gmail to authenticate to LinkedIn, and authenticating against that opens several cans of worms. If they demand my gmail, then I'm probably really screwed. Luckily, google+ shut down, likely because google saw some risks rather than because they thought they couldn't compete in social media. There are so many systems to consider but always at least one they wouldn't know about or take the time to consider. If they force me to log in to Proton, I could be really screwed.

Of course, if I'm already on a list - which would probably be the case if AI actually works - then none of this would help me. My bigger concern is if immigration asks to see my phone and find something that way, or if they take my phone for forensic analysis. I had no problem getting across the border with a facial scan - not even showing a passport - in September of 2025, but things seem to be getting worse there almost daily.

Before travel, I email my itinerary to a brother who I would text after arrival so that he knows where I would have been stopped. He also knows how to access my proton account, which has information about how to log in to various other things as well as my estate plan and relevant instructions. I should probably have a lawyer and give him the same information, but I don't trust lawyers and anyone is susceptible to a wrench attack, though my brother doesn't seem too concerned about this possibility. It would be good to do a dry run through what he would have to do if I disappear, but we haven't gotten there yet because he thinks I'm paranoid, which seems to work in my favor so far.

I have a burner phone, but I don't want to put my US SIM in it, because then that phone and that SIM would be associated (although it could already be due to my international SIMs being associated with my passport, the two phones being in frequent proximity, that phone being in frequent proximity to my passport and its RealID, and so forth). And I wouldn't want to show them my burner and then have them find my actual phone. The safest thing would actually be to leave my actual phone in Asia.

Yeah...privacy is kind of a thing of the past. Each one of us is constantly broadcasting numerous signals including cell for stingray devices and standard towers, bluetooth, phone hotspot network identifier, facial and gait recognition with exposed, hidden, and hacked cameras everywhere (even tiny drone cameras), whatever RealID contains (my guess is at least RFID or similar nearfield identification and possibly something for Low Earth Orbit satellite tracking), the fact that WiFi networks signals can identify individuals based on how bodies uniquely affect waves they use, license plates for plate readers, and so forth, including things we probably don't even know about, not to mention that the government may have access to your google maps and other data. Again, they already know on what flight I'll arrive; one question is whether they would be tracking me in advance of my arrival. At this point, just leaving the USA is probably considered a terrorist threat that gets me on some kind of watchlist. The tinfoil hats can no longer protect anyone.

Some of this may be good process to define for others. At least some of these are good periodic practices for device cleanup, data backup, security, privacy, and possibly otherwise, regardless of whether there is any actual risk of being stopped at the border.

Of course, if they associate me with this post, then they would know where to look, but that would require more than just looking at or taking my devices. Whether I publish this or not, like anyone crossing the US border these days, I am taking my chances. I have a theory that the more public I am, the less likely they are to mess with me. They certainly have bigger fish to fry, but they also seem quite arbitrary. Of course anything wrong that they might do to me is probably illegal, and there's no evidence anywhere that I've broken any law, but evidence and laws and the Constitution don't really matter in the US anymore, and going to court afterwards (if that even were possible) wouldn't prevent their damaging action in the first place.

In any case, this has been an interesting thought exercise. I simply accept the risks and plan to do some preparation rather than actually worrying about it. I will get on that plane regardless of what might happen to me.

General Prep

iPhone Prep

Of course I would like to simply reset the phone, but I don't want to move WhatsApp to my burner phone or lose all of my conversation histories, specifically photos and videos that I haven't downloaded. Maybe it's time to pull those files or simply accept that loss; I've lost numerous email accounts and never really been bothered by it.

Laptop Prep

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