Patrick G. Lee | ProPublica

Can Border Officials Search Your Phone? These Are Your Rights

Recent detentions and seizures of phones and other material from travelers to the United States have sparked alarm. We detail what powers Customs and Border Protection officials have over you and your devices.

Patrick G. Lee | ProPublica
By Patrick G. Lee | ProPublica
Transportation Security Administration agent Kevin Effan, left, allows a screened passenger to board his American Airlines flight. (AP Photo)

A NASA scientist heading home to the U.S. said he was detained in January at a Houston airport, where Customs and Border Protection officers pressured him for access to his work phone and its potentially sensitive contents. Last month, CBP agents checked the identification of passengers leaving a domestic flight at New York's John F. Kennedy

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An Ocean Apart, But United In Concerns About Hate Crimes

The violence in Great Britain after the Brexit vote might hold lessons for America.

Patrick G. Lee | ProPublica
By Patrick G. Lee | ProPublica
The English Defence League marchs in Newcastle on Saturday calling for the repatriation of immigrants in the wake of the EU referendum vote.

(ANALYSIS) --- A divisive vote, with jobs and immigrants the most combustible issues. An outcome that surprised the experts. A nation left on edge, with many anxious about intolerance and the violence that can stem from it. No, not just America today, but also the United Kingdom seven months ago. Last June, voters there opted out of the European

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Could Programs To Help Undocumented Immigrants Gain Driver’s Licenses Backfire?

Advocates fear that programs in a dozen states might be used by a Trump administration to bolster deportations aims.

Patrick G. Lee | ProPublica
By Patrick G. Lee | ProPublica
Undocumented immigrants from Mexico, walk with their children along Jimmy Carter Blvd. in Norcross, Ga. The two women walk great distances everyday as they would risk deportation if they drove a car without a driver’s license. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

Since 2015, California has issued about 800,000 licenses to drivers who lack proof of legal residence. In Illinois, more than 212,000 people have received what are known as temporary visitor driver's licenses. Connecticut has approved around 26,600 drive only licenses for undocumented immigrants, and nine more states plus the District of Columbia

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Thousands Of Potentially Wrongful Convictions; Years Of Delayed Action

Four years after a Massachusetts crime lab chemist confessed to tainting evidence, more than 20,000 defendants still don’t know if their drug convictions will stand.

Patrick G. Lee | ProPublica
By Patrick G. Lee | ProPublica
Annie Dookhan sits in Suffolk Superior Court moments before her arraignment in Boston, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012. Dookhan, the former chemist at the center of a U.S. drug testing scandal, pleaded not guilty to charges including perjury and tampering with evidence.

In August 2012, Annie Dookhan, a veteran chemist with a Massachusetts state drug lab, admitted to contaminating samples and faking test results during her eight-and-a-half-year career. More than 20,000 drug convictions, as a result, could have been flawed. Those cases involved defendants from eight different counties, and in many instances people

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Trump’s Call For A Flood Of Poll Watchers Could Disrupt Some Voting Places

In all but four states, private citizens can challenge someone’s right to cast a ballot on or before Election Day. In most places, the burden of proof then falls on the voter.

Patrick G. Lee | ProPublica
By Patrick G. Lee | ProPublica
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump autographs a supporter's chest following his speech at a campaign rally at the Prince William County Fair Ground, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, in Manassas, Va. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Donald Trump’s campaign website implores voters to “Help Me Stop Crooked Hillary From Rigging This Election!” by signing up as observers. He warned people at an Aug. 12 campaign event in Altoona, Pennsylvania, that Clinton could win the state only by cheating, and he asked supporters to “go down to certain areas and watch and study, and make sure

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