WASHINGTON — A newly disclosed trove of about 250 complaints filed by people whose cellphones, laptops, tablets and other personal electronics were searched by border agents without a warrant as they entered the United States is shedding light on a growing debate over individual privacy, collective security and 21st-century technology.

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the documents from the Department of Homeland Security and provided them to The New York Times. In many cases, the people list grievances in addition to feeling their privacy was violated, like being detained for hours and missing connecting flights.

Here are some additional comments that did not make it into our article. In some cases, the complaints have been lightly edited, such as to standardize spelling or punctuation:

“Once after a lengthy interview, the officers interviewing me confessed that America needed more Muslim leaders and imams like myself. However, they took my cellphone right after and downloaded all my contacts and messages. I really felt very hurt at how I was being treated.”

— June 12, 2012. Filed by a man who identified himself as an American citizen who has been regularly stopped for extra scrutiny since returning from a trip to India in 2007.

______

“On several occasions my wife and I have been subjected to extensive and invasive questioning by TSA agents, and our personal belongings, including my laptop and smartphone, have been confiscated and searched. We find these tactics to be a deep invasion of our privacy. ... It is very demeaning and degrading to feel as though I am being targeted because I am Muslim and not Caucasian.”

— Sept. 15, 2014. Filed by a man who said he has family in Iran.

______

“I am a licensed attorney in the state of Minnesota. My cellphone is also my work phone and contained attorney/client privileged information. ... I believe that the reasons for such an intrusive search I was subjected to should have been provided to me as a lawful permanent resident of the United States for 15 years, without criminal records or any significant reason for such treatment.”

— Aug. 3, 2015. Filed by a man who described himself as a green-card holder from Nigeria whose phone was confiscated when he was detained for two hours while driving across the border after visiting family in Canada.