I'm a nobody American citizen. I'll be traveling internationally for a short vacation soon and already decided that the only electronics I'm taking are a burner phone and a loaner laptop I'm checking out from the public library. I have nothing to hide, but the GOP administration have shown they'll make up any excuse to invade privacy and restrict liberty.
So buy one from walmart/amazon and return it when your done. Don't potentially fuck over your local library, one of the few remaining bastions of public service, when TSA decides it's suspiciously clean (and/or finds probable traces from the person that had it before you).
Have you ever managed a fleet of computers (corporate, education, industrial, etc)? I can tell you from first hand experience that a dead/damaged/missing/stolen computer is simply business as usual. Also the likelihood it will be seized at the border is low. Its not none, but it is low.
Ah so it's the same. Whenever I have a MacBook in for repairs under warranty I just go and buy another one and return it when I pick up my repaired one haha
that's potentially very dangerous--taking a laptop you do not know the history of or what may be hidden in metadata or unused sectors of the internal storage.
Remember to not volunteer any information, and keep answers to questions short and on point. If you can, make sure to tell your friends and family who are staying in the states about your expected departure and return times. Also look up one or two lawyers to have on speed dial on your burner (smart move btw!!).