TSA

TSA Has No Time to Train its Screeners

By Suzanne Ito, ACLU at 3:19pm

Today, the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a new report (PDF), and really, the title says it all. Called "Transportation Security Administration's Management of Its Screening Workforce Training Program Can Be Improved," the report finds it took years to get the current passenger screening program off the ground. And when it finally did, let's just say proper TSA screener training was not the emphasis. Well, there's a shocker to anyone who's been reading the news about the TSA lately.

Homeland Security Wants to See You Naked

By Sam Ritchie, ACLU at 3:31pm

Yesterday, in a guest opinion column for USA Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano made a plea to the American public to cooperate with the Transportation Security Agency's (TSA) efforts to virtually strip-search air travelers this holiday season. In her piece, she repeated misleading and inaccurate claims about the effectiveness of strip-search machines — a.k.a. advanced imaging technology (AIT) machines — and what the government is doing to make sure that the naked pictures they are taking of you remain private.

TSA Meets "Resistance" with New Pat-Down Procedures

By Suzanne Ito, ACLU at 3:42pm

The Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) even-more-invasive pat-down searches for people who opt-out of the strip-search machines at airports have generated some striking stories of people's encounters with TSA agents. Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic recounts:

"Sexytime Pat-Downs," or an Invasion of Privacy?

By Danielle Riendeau, ACLU of Northern California at 10:51am

If you've traveled through Boston's Logan airport lately, you'll surely have noticed a few changes at the security aisles. Most notably, ominous "naked body scanner" machines now dot each entrance to the gates, and, as was noted in a minor media fury this weekend, more invasive pat-downs are now the norm, rather than the unlucky exception. Even Comedy Central has picked up on the story, satirically condemning the ACLU for opposing "sexytime patdowns at the airport."

Senators Push Back on Storing Naked Security Images

By Suzanne Ito, ACLU at 12:20pm

Earlier this month, the U.S. Marshals Service admitted that it had stored more than 34,000 images of people who had passed through the millimeter wave body scanners at a courthouse in Florida. They were stored despite federal agencies' previous statements that "scanned images cannot be stored or recorded."

Oops.

A Happy Ending, So Far

By Nusrat Choudhury, Staff Attorney, ACLU National Security Project at 9:39am

Last week, we got some good news in the case of Adnan Tikvesa, an airline employee whose security clearance was unexpectedly suspended by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) without any reason or reasonable opportunity for him to defend himself – leading Delta to suspend him without pay. After eight months of limbo, Mr. Tikvesa was finally permitted to return to work at Delta Airlines at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport. His co-workers welcomed him back with a party.

Welcome to Airport Security. A "Wizard" Will Be With You Shortly to Engage in Racial Profiling and Violate Your Privacy.

By Falen M. LaPonzina, Washington Legislative Office at 10:58am

Let's talk about a little known program being deployed across the nations' airports called SPOT, Screening Passengers by Observation Technique. According to an article in Nature News, by Sharon Weinberger, America's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has trained 3,000 officers to detect and infer future behavior, in what can only be described as a psychic effort, to determine an individual's intent. The TSA claims that these screeners are trained to observe and identify people who appear to be deceptive and planning hostile acts.

"No-Fly" With Me

By Rachel Myers, ACLU at 4:38pm

Ayman Latif is a U.S. citizen and disabled Marine veteran living in Egypt with no way to travel to the United States, where he was born and raised, to introduce his new baby daughter to the rest of his family who still reside in the states. He also can't take the required Veterans Administration exams to ensure he continues to receive the disability benefits he is due, after serving the U.S. for three years.

Getting Naked with Strangers May Be More Dangerous Than Suspected

By Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst, ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at 4:29pm

In a post about body scanners last month, I noted that the health effects of these machines has been a "muted part of the debate." The issue just got less muted. NPR is reporting that a group of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, has raised concerns over the health effects of backscatter X-ray body scanners, which is one of the two types being deployed (the other being millimeter wave). The scientists' concerns over backscatter are disputed by the TSA and others, and we at the ACLU do not pretend to be scientists. But, the scientists' brief letter (PDF), which they sent on April 6 to President Obama's science advisor John P. Holdren, is worth looking at.

Body Scanner Humiliation Reportedly Sparks Alleged Assault

By Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst, ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at 5:23pm

The Miami Herald and the Smoking Gun are reporting that a Miami TSA officer has been charged with aggravated battery after he attacked a coworker. The assault was reportedly sparked by the fact that the man's colleagues were making fun of the size of the officer's genitalia seen as he walked through a full-body airport scanner.

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