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Unfortunately, customs do have the authority to search anything being brought into the country except diplomatic pouches. Refuse a search and you can be refused entry.
Obviously, though, this is pretty easy to bypass: Encrypt your data and archive it online. Or create a second username on your computer and say the laptop is issued by your employer and you don't know what other accounts contain. Or use a truecrypt-encrypted volume. Or don't take secret data out of the country.
Anyway, here's my point: The rules (probably) say they can search your laptop. The fact this is unenforceable and arguably unethical doesn't stop it being the law.
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Government Laptops & Corporate Laptops
It's obvious that international travelers will include both government officials and business folks in addition to the tourists. While most truly official government travel would be done as diplomats with the requisite diplomatic pouches, not ALL travel is done that way. Say you're a military CPT and traveling with a government issued laptop and Germany wants to inspect your hard-drive? The same degree of "you most certainly may not" indignation is exactly the same level of rebuttal we can expect from any travelers coming into the USA.
Now, step back from government travel for a moment and forget the world of SIPR and NIPR rules. You are a businessman traveling with a corporate laptop complete with proprietary financial strategies or engineering schematics. Allow Joe-Border-Guard access? Riiiiight. What about private data? You're a consultant working on a medical system or human resources employee and doing work on the HR database for a major firm and the guards want to see the files. How do privacy laws or HIPAA fall into play when you say no?
Unadulterated border access to electronic devices has disaster and lawsuits written all over it.
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