So which is a better option? Losing a job (or) refused entry/detention/harassment after 24+ hours on the plane/getting treated like a criminal....? (not that criminals need to be treated badly)
The right solution to this problem is saner laws and educating the public about privacy and related topics
It's one thing to decide not to go to the US, it is quite another to be force to it in order to defend my employer shareholders interest on a trip mandated by them. If you send me to the US, you implicitly agree the company is fine with US borders to do whatever they want with the company data.
It is 2016, I can rebuild a whole laptop from scratch with my whole data anywhere in the world. There are affordable ways to work around the problem: provisioning a VDI and even buying a laptop on site is a fraction of the cost of flight and accommodation.
Considering the history of the civil rights movement in the US, we're not going to get saner laws without a little civil disobedience. It sucks to bear the brunt of this harassment, but saying "yes" only enables the system to harass everyone more efficiently.
But now I don't even opt out.
Instead I tell them that I can't raise my arms above my head. They direct me around the scanner (sometimes the metal detector too), swab my hands, and call it done. I often skip 10-15 people in the process. If they ask why, I tell them I have a medical condition and they're not allowed to ask further so I don't explain.
Hopefully the bad guys never figure it out!