But it's more than triple the number of searches conducted in 2015, when the agency searched 8,500 devices.
The new numbers represent the highest number of device searches since its parent department Homeland Security was founded in 2003.
But basic searches carried out at random -- which don't require any reasonable suspicion -- are still permitted, the guidelines say.
Critics of the government's border search policies said the move was an improvement, but didn't go far enough.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said in a statement that the new policy will "still allow far too many indiscriminate searches of innocent Americans.".
Device border searches remain a contentious and controversial topic, one that has piqued the interest of several lawmakers, who want to rein in that power.
A bill introduced by Wyden last year would have forced border officials to obtain a court-approved warrant before accessing Americans' files and photos. »
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