My extended family have planned a trip to Mexico for almost a year now. I told them earlier this year that I may not want to go given everything that’s happening at the border and locally.

Some context: the majority of my family is white (i.e. the right kind of white) while I am a US-born Asian American. My parents (naturalized immigrants) and my in-laws think I’m over-reacting but I am concerned that me and my parents may have trouble re-entering the US when we return.

I’ve been very vocal, especially online, about the state of affairs of the country. I’ve gone to two protests (without my phone). However, I am growing concerned that taking my phone may be dangerous, especially given how I essentially have no rights at the border.

My family is insisting that I take my phone. Besides the fact that I need to be reachable, they want me (the resident techie) to be able to find places to go, do currency conversions, etc. On my phone, I’m logged into things like lemmy and have various authentication methods (e.g. TOTP, ssh keys, etc.) that could grant the government access to other areas of my digital life. My phone also has access to my password manager, which I plan to log out if I take my phone with me.

I’m wondering if I am overreacting or if I have a legitimate concern. I know hundreds, if not thousands, cross the border without issue. But also know there is a non-zero chance that I will be questioned.

I have thought about getting a burner smart phone and then formatting the phone when I re-enter. My family doesn’t like the idea, but they are okay with it.

The other option I thought about was using my Pixel’s “second user” feature to run with a dummy account using a passphrase (verses biometrics) for unlocking the phone. Once I clear security, I would delete the second user and then proceed as normal. The problem with this approach is that if they clone the phone (I don’t know of CBP have the ability to do so, but wouldn’t put it pass them), I’m essentially shit out of luck.

Am I being paranoid? Are there other things I should consider?

I’d love for people of color to chime in, especially if you have crossed the border recently.