U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued new guidelines directing agents to stop discarding migrants' personal belongings, following hundreds of complaints criticizing the agency for failing to return items such as medicine, clothing, cell phones, cash, and identity documents.
The directive now classifies legal documents, contact information, and religious items as "essential personal property" that cannot be confiscated. Phones, cash, medical documents, and items of sentimental value must be stored, with migrants receiving written instructions on how to retrieve them.
