In an effort to gather information about possible civil liberties abuses at U.S. borders, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is looking to speak with individuals who have had a laptop, PDA, BlackBerry, iPod or other electronic device holding large amounts of data taken or searched by agents at any of the state’s borders with Canada or at the airport when traveling overseas.

The ACLU of Michigan is particularly interested in hearing from people whose electronic devices left their sight for a period of time.

“We know that these types of seizures are happening at airports and at our borders across the state on a regular basis without warrant or warning. However, we don’t know who this is happening to and how often it is happening,” said ACLU attorney Jessie Rossman.

One report the ACLU received came from Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, of the Islamic House of Wisdom. He was stopped, searched and had his laptop confiscated for a short period of time last October at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

“They said, ‘Well, we need to check your computer,'” Elahi said after the incident.

“They said they had to go to an office and check it. They came back and said, ‘Well, do the password.’…He took it back, and it took another 20 minutes. And then he came back and said, ‘Well, you know, unfortunately, the computer died as I was looking at it.'”

As a result of the search, Elahi had to spend thousands of dollars to retrieve years of scholarly research, contact lists, photos and personal e-mails from mosque members seeking counsel.

“We know that Imam Elahi is not alone so we need individuals to come forward and tell their stories so that we can fill in the blanks and move forward in advocating for changes at our ports of entry,” Rossman said.

Although the ACLU objects to searches of electronic devices without a warrant at the border and at the airport, it warns that individuals should never refuse such searches.

“Generally, law enforcement officers at the border or at the airport can search laptop files and make copies of information contained in the files,” said Rossman. “However, we urge anyone who is searched in this manner to immediately contact us.”

Affected individuals can contact Jessie Rossman of the ACLU of Michigan at jrossman@aclumich.org.

Rana Elmir is Communications Director for the ACLU of Michigan.