August, 22 2008, 04:55pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Matthew Allee, (202) 675-2312
media@dcaclu.org or
Will Matthews, (212) 549-2646
media@aclu.org
Preliminary Congressional Investigation Finds Watch Lists Plagued with Systemic Flaws
ACLU calls for lists to be scrapped and for DHS to approach airline security in reasonable and effective manor
WASHINGTON
In response to today's Wall Street Journal article on the flaws found in the terrorist watch lists by a preliminary congressional investigation, the American Civil Liberties Union calls on all presidential candidates, as well as current President Bush, to pledge to put a moratorium on the use of the lists unless major overhauls are made. The investigation found the current database system beleaguered with flaws and technological hurdles. Not only that, but the program being designed to replace the current database is facing similar systemic difficulties, while the contractors hired for its creation are struggling to move toward completion.
"The time for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to scrap their current approach to airline security is well overdue, now that the Terrorist Screening Center's terrorist watch lists have passed one million entries," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU Technology and Liberty Program. "The American people would be comforted if our presidential candidates denounced these burdensome practices. Senators McCain and Obama should declare a moratorium on the use of the lists unless drastic measures are taken to improve their accuracy, and protect innocent Americans hoping to travel without burden."
The ACLU calls for the following measures to be taken:
i) a dramatic downsizing of the terrorist watch lists to contain names limited to only those for whom there is credible evidence of terrorist ties or activities;
ii) implementation of a true redress process with full due process rights is created so that innocent people who find themselves mistakenly on the lists can be taken off - and stay off;
iii) a complete overhaul of the computer databases used to house the watch lists.
"Enough is enough," said Timothy Sparapani, ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel. "Watch list systems are worse than worthless. They create security risks by diverting scarce homeland security resources away from actual terrorists by focusing attention on hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of innocent travelers. Those innocent victims wrongly caught in the dragnet of suspicion are left without recourse to clear their good name. Upon completion of the investigation that uncovered all these deficiencies, Congress should publish all findings and recommend that DHS approach airline security in a manner that is both effective for our nation's security and respects the freedom and liberty of innocent travelers."
The ACLU of Pennsylvania this week filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Eric Scherfen and his wife, Rabina Tareen, who have both been wrongly placed on the terrorist watch list. Scherfen, a decorated veteran of the Persian Gulf War and a pilot for a regional commuter airline, has received no explanation for having been placed on the list, as his inquiries have seemingly been deposited into the black hole the government seems to throw all complaints of this nature into. His employer has suspended him without pay and he stands to be fired October 1 if he is unable to clear his name. Scherfen's case crystallizes the inherent problems with the terrorist watch list and the ways in which innocent Americans can be unjustly impacted.
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
(212) 549-2666LATEST NEWS
Privacy Defenders Decry 'Spy Draft' in Section 702 Renewal Advanced by Senate
"It's not about who RISAA allows the government to spy on, it's about who RISAA allows the government to force to spy," explained one critic.
Apr 18, 2024
Civil liberties defenders on Thursday decried the U.S. Senate's advancement of the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, which critics say lawmakers are trying to ram through without protection against warrantless surveillance and with a provision that would effectively make every American a spy whether they like it or not.
Senators voted 67-32 in favor of a cloture motion to begin voting on RISAA, a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires on Friday. FISA—a highly controversial law that has been abused hundreds of thousands of times—allows warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. citizens but also often sweeps up Americans' communication data in the process.
In a 273-147 vote last week, House lawmakers passed RISAA, including an amendment critics say dramatically expands the government's unchecked surveillance authority by compelling a wide range of individuals and organizations—including businesses and the media—to cooperate in government spying operations.
This so-called "Make Everyone a Spy" clause would allow the attorney general or director of national intelligence to force electronic communication service providers to "immediately provide... all information, facilities, or assistance" the government deems necessary.
"This bill would basically allow the government to institute a spy draft," Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, warned Thursday. "It will lead to significant distrust between journalists and sources, not to mention everyone else."
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In addition to the "Make Everyone a Spy" provision, civil libertarians have sounded the alarm over the House lawmakers' rejection of an amendment that would have added a warrant requirement to the legislation.
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Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)—who
said earlier this week that the bill would dragoon the American people into becoming "an agent for Big Brother"—on Thursday argued that "this issue demands a debate about meaningful reforms, not a rushed vote to rubber-stamp more warrantless government surveillance powers."
In an attempt to tackle the warrantless surveillance issue, Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) on Thursday proposed a RISAA amendment that would require the government to obtain a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court before accessing Americans' private communications.
However, the amendment contains exceptions to the warrant requirement in the event of unspecified emergencies and cyberattacks.
"If the government wants to spy on the private communications of Americans, they should be required to get approval from a judge—just as our Founders intended," Durbin said in a statement. "Congress has a responsibility to the American people to get this right."
The Biden administration and U.S. intelligence agencies vehemently oppose the Durbin-Cramer amendment. The White House called the measure "a reckless policy choice contrary to the key lessons of 9/11 and not grounded in any constitutional requirement or statute."
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On Wednesday, the House also passed the Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act, which would prohibit the government from buying Americans' information from data brokers if it would otherwise need a warrant to obtain the data, which includes location and internet records. The Senate will now take up FANFSA.
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Since Israel launched what the International Court of Justice has said is a "plausibly" genocidal assault of the Gaza Strip in response to a Hamas-led October attack, the Biden administration has blocked three cease-fire resolutions at the Security Council. Under mounting global pressure, the U.S. finally abstained last month, allowing a cease-fire measure to pass.
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Columbia President Minouche Shafik informed the campus community on Thursday that she had authorized the police to clear the encampment.
As it has been in the past, the school has become a center of anti-war protests—and crackdowns by school officials and the police—since Israel began its bombardment of Gaza in October.
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In response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Columbia in November suspended the campus chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine—an action that pushed the New York Civil Liberties Union and Palestine Legal to file a lawsuit on behalf of the students last month.
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U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), whose daughter, Isra Hirsi, was among the Barnard students who were suspended on Thursday for participating in the encampment protest, questioned Shafik about whether antisemitic protests have actually taken place at Columbia, prompting the president to say there have not.
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"Correct," replied Shafik.
On Thursday, Omar posted on social media two images of protesters at Columbia: one from the encampment this week, and one from 1968, when students protested the U.S. war in Vietnam.
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