I know this from the European perspective. A lot of companies have policies for US travels for a few years now. Even some government employees on official business in the US, need to drop of their business phone and laptop with IT, before traveling to the US. And pick up a freshly wiped one with limited access, and no data on it.
For some countries like Russia it can be even more strict. They only get laptops not connected to the company network at all, and are only allowed to put a few files onto it via a flash drive. The smartphone is replaced by a feature phone without internet.
> A lot of companies have policies for US travels for a few years now.
I traveled a lot around 2010, long before Trump. Phone searches at the border were common even then. I had to give my passcode to Canada and European countries.
I can attest that this kind of frightening incident did not start with Trump. As a traveler, I heard horror stories back then, but not many people talked about them. I feel like most of the sudden interest in these stories has an obvious motive.
For some countries like Russia it can be even more strict. They only get laptops not connected to the company network at all, and are only allowed to put a few files onto it via a flash drive. The smartphone is replaced by a feature phone without internet.