The U.S. terrorist watchlist for travelers needs to have more transparency, as urged by the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in its latest report.
HSGAC, which is the primary oversight committee of the Senate, explained that the watchlists for tracking and identifying travelers with possible connections to terrorists have serious problems.
A passenger waits near a Delta Airline terminal in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on April 13, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Delta Air Lines reported a $353 million loss for its first fiscal quarter.
If you are an American who loves to travel from one place to another, here's what the terrorist watchlist for travelers needs to be more transparent.
US Terrorist Watchlist for Travelers Need More Transparency
According to NBC News, HSGAC's latest report states that the U.S. terrorist watchlist for travelers could spread national security resources, as well as lead to unwarranted screening at a wider scale.
The primary Senate oversight committee claimed U.S. travelers entering and leaving the United States could be screened for at least 22 different reasons. HSGAC officials said that too many screenings could violate civil liberties.
"While protecting Americans from the threat of terrorist attacks is paramount, potential abuse and/or lack of meaningful redress for wrongful screenings by our government risks eroding Americans' civil rights and civil liberties," explained the committee.
Because of this, the Democratic majority of HSGAC is urging relevant government organizations, especially the Department of Homeland Security, to do the following:
- Fully review records of U.S. terrorist watchlists.
- Offer more transparency as to how Americans can end up on these watchlists.
- Provide a path to travelers that can allow them to redress if ever they are unfairly put on the terrorist watchlist.
HSGAC's latest U.S. terrorist watchlist report comes as the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board makes efforts to review standards to add and remove names from the said watchlists.
Read Also: US Expands Sanctions To Target Hamas Funders, Terror Trainers
US Terrorist Watchlist Nearly Doubles
Airline passengers, some not wearing face masks following the end of COVID-19 public transportation rules, sit during an American Airlines flight operated by SkyWest Airlines from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in California to Denver, Colorado on April 19, 2022.
CBS News reported that in just six years, the U.S. terrorist watchlist nearly doubled in size. Based on an extensive review, terrorist watchlists not only expanded the number of names but also who they target.
This was revealed after investigating government and court documents and interviews. Over a dozen former and current intelligence community leaders also agreed with this finding.
On December 1, 2003, the U.S. government launched the Terrorist Screening Dataset. During that period, it only included around 120,000 individuals.
In 2017, this number reached over 1.1 million individuals. Now, experts say that the consolidated terrorist watchlist contains names of more than 2 million people this 2023.
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