Homeland Security chief John Kelly says TSA will continue searching airline passenger cell phones and electronic devices, though some call it unlawfully intrusive.
Kelly insists such searches are valuable in the fight to keep terrorists out of the U.S. and that they affect a fraction of the 1 million people who enter the country every day.
"They're trying to be more intrusive and get into more of your personal space, your privacy, whether it’s your cell phone, your computer or parts of your body," says longtime TSA critic Jay Stang with the group Oath Keepers.
Officials recently banned cell phones from cabins of jetliners flying from the Middle East.
"You're already off the plane and now you're coming into the United States, you're on the ground and they want to check your cell phone, see that's why I don't think it washes," says Stang.
DHS argues cell phone searches by border agents have helped nab pedophiles as well as suspected terrorists.
Stang fears TSA agents will abuse the searches like some did with pat downs.
"With the amount of pictures people keep on their phones, if you see a woman who is very attractive, and you've got a TSA agent who is attracted to her, that might be a reason she gets pulled aside."