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I like this. Who would have thought that of all Congresscritters to come out strong on liberties and privacy in opposition to the big-brother policies of President Obama’s Homeland Security, it would be our own dear Loretta from the 47th District?

And I read it in Glennzilla.  Apparently it’s become more and more common in recent years for Americans traveling back home from points abroad to have their laptops, Blackberries etc. confiscated at the border, and not returned till weeks later if ever.  It’s especially happening now to anyone slightly connected to Wikileaks (in fact one returning Wikileaks volunteer, anticipating this, returned with nothing but a memory stick with the Bill of Rights uploaded onto it – snap!)  But it’s been happening more and more to all sorts of Americans for no apparent reason.

So Loretta has now introduced HR 216 to tamp down somewhat on these abuses.  It’s a modest bill as both Glenn and Loretta admit, but in his taped interview with her she does convince him that it’s probably the strongest such bill she could currently get through the Republican-dominated House.  That inspires a classic Glenn tirade, against you Republicans and teabaggers:

…the right-wing of the Republican Party and its “Tea Party” faction endlessly tout their devotion to limited federal government powers, individual rights, property rights, and the Constitution.  If they were even minimally genuine in those claims, few things would offend and anger them more than federal agents singling out and detaining whichever citizens they want, and then taking their property, digging through and recording their most personal and private data — all without any oversight or probable cause.  Yet with very few exceptions (a few groups on the Right, including religious conservatives, opposed some excesses of the Patriot Act, while the small libertarian faction of the GOP oppose many of these abuses), they seem indifferent to, even supportive of, the very policies that most violently injure their ostensible principles.

Read the whole Glenn article – you should really be reading Glenn every day if you care about liberty – and especially listen to his short interview with Loretta.  It’s nice to hear our County’s only human congressmember talking to one of our time’s greatest civil liberties warriors.

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Update: Ah, now a press release comes from Loretta – I guess her folks needed four days to figure out how to spin this so as not to worry skittish people into thinking she’s Weak On Terror:

REP. LORETTA SANCHEZ STRIKES BALANCE BETWEEN SECURITY, CIVIL LIBERTIES
IN BORDER SECURITY SEARCH ACCOUNTABILTY ACT

Congresswoman Introduces Bill to Protect Americans
Whose Belongings are Searched by Border Agents

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA-47), the highest ranking female member of the House Homeland Security Committee, introduced legislation to strengthen privacy protections for U.S. citizens whose electronic data is seized in border and port of entry searches. H.R. 216, the Border Security Search Accountability Act of 2011, would provide the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with guidelines for searching individuals and their belongings at our borders, while also setting standards to protect travelers’ privacy.

“Security and civil liberties are not mutually exclusive goals,” said Rep. Sanchez. “We can, and must, strike a balance between strengthening our borders and protecting fundamental rights. My bill accomplishes both goals by creating stronger privacy protections for Americans whose electronic devices and documents are seized at our borders and other ports of entry.”

In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security adopted policy directives similar to those laid out in H.R. 216, but more must be done. H.R. 216 would strengthen protections for U.S. citizens and their property by codifying specific guidelines concerning the retention, storage, copying, and sharing of personal identity information that may be contained in seized electronic devices.

In addition to establishing a well-defined search and seizure procedure, the Border Security Search Accountability Act of 2011 would also require the Department of Homeland Security to post information about individuals’ rights related to border searches in visible areas near search points, so individuals fully understand their rights. The bill will also ensure that the Trade Secrets Act, the Privacy Act, and all other governing rules and regulations pertaining to privileged and personal data (including attorney-client and doctor-patient privileged materials) are handled with the utmost discretion.