I’ve been waiting close on two hours for some evidence that 4A warrant requirements have EVER been considered as applying to customs inspections.
I guess I’ll have a long wait.
I might be tempted, but there is a fundamental difference between freight and people -- the Constitution recognizes people as having rights (e.g. the 4th amendment).
Thus the 4th doesn't apply to cargo-ships -- which would be the overwhelming number of customs cases.
The other way to look at the issue is this: what reason did the government agent have to confiscate the laptop? If he were called in to court, what would his under-oath answer be? (a) Would it justify the confiscation? and (b) would it match with the truth (i.e. would the agent's testimony be faithful or a perjury)? — this is why warrants are a good thing, even for the government agent, it provides documentation of the circumstances/events as well as acknowledging the use of power as legitimate.