Terror Watch Lists are Unworkable

Office of the Inspector General Report Confirms ACLU Suspicions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) comments on a report on Terror Watch lists released today from the Office of the Inspector of the Department of Justice. The following can be attributed to Timothy Sparapani, Senior Legislative Counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union.

“The report is more confirmation that the watch lists are growing out of control and without controls. The Department of Justice Inspector General confirms what we all knew. The FBI has put law abiding Americans on the Watch List who never should have been there in the first place. And the FBI lacks procedures to remove innocent people from this morass. It’s time Congress stepped in and stopped this monstrosity. It is time to focus law enforcement efforts on suspected terrorists and not on innocent Americans.”

The Office of the Inspector General report mentions causes for the bloated watch list including lack of procedures how names get on the list by the FBI’s sister organizations within the Department of Justice. The report also found that FBI field agents added names to the list without proper vetting or quality control.

For more information on terror watch lists and a link to the For more information on the Watch List and for a link to watch list counter visit: www.aclu.org/privacy/spying/watchlistcounter.html